Le Jardinier

Le Jardinier or L'Arroseur Arrosé (eng. The Gardener or The Sprinkler Sprinkled) is a short silent film directed by Louis Lumière and produced by Louis and Auguste Lumière. It was one of the ten short films projected the 28th December of 1895 at the Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris. It stars François Clerc e Benoît Duval, two workers at the Lumière Factory.

Plot
A gardener (François Clerc) is watering plants in a garden with a hose. A boy (Benoît Duval) enters the screen and intentionally steps on the hose in order to block the stream of water. The gardener notices that the water has stopped and raise the nozzle to look inside it and see what is wrong. The boy raise his leg and the water suddenly sprays the gardener's face, hilariously knocking off his hat. The boy tries to escape but the gardener chases him and soon catches up with him. Depending on the version of the film, the gardener either grabs the boy, spanks him and resume watering the plants, or kicks him in the bottom and sprays him in return.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The first comedy film in the history of cinema.
 * 2) It was part of the Lumière brothers' projection that took place at the Salon Indien du Grand Café in the Boulevard du Capucins in Paris, the first time people payed in order to see films, the event that marked the birth of the cinematograph.
 * 3) The first example of narrative film in history. Not a documentary but a portraying of a script with actual actors.
 * 4) The first movie in which a boy actor, Benoît Duval, starred.
 * 5) The central gag of the film is still widely remember today and is still funny.

Video
Since the movie is in public domain, videos of it can be watched for free on internet. Here are two videos with the two versions, from YouTube.

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