An elderly man working with a water hose in the garden suddenly gets soaked because of a little boy who sneaks up behind him and pulls the hose out with all his might. This short film, directed by Louis Lumière, sparks one of the first flashes of humor in the history of cinema. The sudden burst of water on his face—caused by the garden hose being stepped on—lays the groundwork for the slapstick comedy tradition rooted in humor, even in the very early days of cinema. The quiet tension building in the background dissipates with the mischief of the child who bends the hose and runs away. The gardener’s frantic chase leaves a genuine sense of street-level warmth in every frame on screen. This week on the KültAlt table, we take a closer look at one of cinema’s earliest moments of humor.