Water-to-bogant (Montagnes russes sur l'eau)

Water-to-bogant (Montagnes russes sur l'eau) (1896)

This actuality film from the Lumiere Brothers is a lot of fun. The setting is at an amusement park where we see one of those rides where a small boat comes down a slide, crashes into the water and of course the water goes everywhere. We see this and then the boat is pulled over so that the people can get out. Thsi is where the fun begins since you get a great shot of what the people are wearing but also there's one guy who obviously wants to be noticed as he keeps walking back and forth so that he can enter the frame. If you enjoy these actuality movies then this one here is quite fun and especially since everyone knows that they are being filmed and the one guy wants to be a part of the action.

Apparently the French phrase for what Americans call a flume is a Russian Mountain.... presumably one that's being used for logging. In any case, this is a straightforward short of one, with the craft coming straight ahead. There's no horizontal movement at first until its passengers leave at the left of the frame. The competing lines of movement that keep up interest in the better Lumiere shorts -- horizontal versus vertical are separated in time, not just space. While perfectly logical, it is not as interesting.

Some of the passengers sneak a look at the camera as they exit. I find these acknowledgements of the operation fascinating. After all, people on screen have spent more than a century pretending they are unobserved.