Les incohérences de Boireau(1913)

Les incohérences de Boireau is a silent French comedy short that embraces absurdist humor and dreamlike logic. The film opens with Boireau asleep in mid-air, only to be roused by a sudden fire. In response, he grabs his gun and shoots a fish falling from the sky—a sequence that sets the tone for the film's deliberately illogical and surreal events. The title itself signals the work's commitment to nonsensical situations and irrational cause-and-effect, characteristic of early cinema's experimental comedy. Boireau, a popular character in French film of the era, navigates this chaotic world with deadpan determination, creating humor through the sheer strangeness of his circumstances and reactions. The film exemplifies the playful, anarchic spirit of pre-war French slapstick.