‘Sherlock Jr.’ starring Buster Keaton

It seems like just the blink of an eye, but it’s been five years since the American Cinematheque opened a western annex with its Max Palevsky Theatre at the Aero on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. To mark the anniversary, the Cinematheque is offering a free screening of one of the most sublime comedies of all time, Buster Keaton’s 1924 “Sherlock Jr.” A master of movement and stillness, Keaton developed a comedy style that was as intellectual as it was physical, and this small gem shows us why he’s as purely American a film genius as the motion pictures have produced. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Aero, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica.

-- Kenneth Turan