The revolution will be projected

Sometimes a film is more than just “going to the movies.” It’s a life changer, time spent that forever alters your perspective. And that’s a great thing, but sometimes, sometimes, a film is just painful. Sometimes, it’s four hours of your ass falling asleep. Steven Soderbergh’s Che, which stars Benicio Del Toro as the titular leader, might be both of these films. Shot entirely in Spanish and broken into two parts—depicting both the Cuban revolution and Che Guevara’s attempt to overthrow the Bolivian government—Soderbergh’s film is an epic. And at four hours and 27 minutes in length, it’s also epically long. But this should not discourage you: It’s a rare opportunity to see a biohistorical release that hasn’t been compromised by Hollywood’s conventional wisdom—make money, lowest common denominator. Sure, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis called Che “Ocean’s Eleven with better cigars,” but that’s just smarts: Bringing Che to Sacramento for an entire week is a bold programming move by the Crest Theatre. Support indie filmmaking and support indie cinema. Che would.