A different kind of movie.
What the Bleep Do We Know? (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:74
Fresh:25
Rotten:49
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Educational, but as entertainment, it'll have viewers asking, 'What the bleep?'
Theatrical Release:Feb 27, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $10,658,111
Synopsis: “WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW?!” is a new type of film. It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. The protagonist, Amanda, played by Marlee... “WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW?!” is a new type of film. It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. The protagonist, Amanda, played by Marlee Matlin, finds herself in a fantastic Alice in Wonderland experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality. She is literally plunged into a swirl of chaotic occurrences, while the characters she encounters on this odyssey reveal the deeper, hidden knowledge she doesn’t even realize she has asked for. Like every hero, Amanda is thrown into crisis, questioning the fundamental premises of her life – that the reality she has believed in about how men are, how relationships with others should be, and how her emotions are affecting her work isn’t reality at all! As Amanda learns to relax into the experience, she conquers her fears, gains wisdom, and wins the keys to the great secrets of the ages, all in the most entertaining way. She is then no longer the victim of circumstances, but she is on the way to being the creative force in her life. Her life will never be the same. The fourteen top scientists and mystics interviewed in documentary style serve as a modern day Greek Chorus. In an artful filmic dance, their ideas are woven together as a tapestry of truth. The thoughts and words of one member of the chorus blend into those of the next, adding further emphasis to the film’s underlying concept of the interconnectedness of all things. The chorus members act as hosts who live outside of the story, and from this Olympian view, comment on the actions of the characters below. They are also there to introduce the Great Questions framed by both science and religion, which divides the film into a series of acts. Through the course of the film, the distinction between science and religion becomes increasingly blurred, since we realize that, in essence, both science and religion describe the same phenomena. The film employs animation to realize the radical knowledge that modern science has unearthed in recent years. Powerful cinematic sequences explore the inner-workings of the human brain. Quirky animation introduces us to the smallest form of consciousness in the body – the cell. Dazzling visuals reinforce the film’s message in an exciting, powerful way. Done with humor, precision, and irreverence, these scenes are only part of what makes this film unique in the history of cinema, and a true box-office winner. -- © Lord of the Wind Films [More]
Starring: Marlee Matlin, Elaine Hendrix, John Ross Bowie
Starring: Marlee Matlin, Elaine Hendrix, John Ross Bowie
Director: Betsy Chasse, Marc Vicente, William Arntz
Director: Betsy Chasse, Marc Vicente, William Arntz
Screenwriter: Betsy Chasse, William Arntz, Matt Hoffman
Producer: William Arntz, Betsy Chasse
Composer: Christopher Franke
Studio: Lord of the Wind Films
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Reviews for What the Bleep Do We Know?
Sometimes What the #$*! Do We Know!? has the corny, ham-handed feel of an old 16mm educational movie, but I'm not sure how intentional this is.
A mishmash of a film with boring talking heads effusing about quantum mechanics, an uninvolving melodrama, and a phony finale of transformation.
Ultimately it's limited by its compulsion to knock our socks off at every turn and to compare itself with Alice in Wonderland.
Marries its documentary footage to a touchy-feely tale of spiritual empowerment that has the clumsiness and dramatic heft of an airline safety video.
Quickly tumbles down a rabbit hole of annoying psychobabble, dubious science and embarrassingly silly animation.
Quantum Bull-Bleep would be a more apt title for the conclusions that the movie draws.
A terribly self-satisfied lecture about the ubiquity of quantum physics in spiritual life.
Feels like a cross between a PBS special hosted by a series of low-rent Deepak Chopras and an infomercial for self-help audio tapes.
Despite my general ignorance about quantum physics, it isn’t difficult to sense the hot air emanating from the film.
In the mood to contemplate life, the universe, and everything? It will either make you think profound thoughts or make your brain hurt trying to grasp what they're saying.
This unusual marriage of 'documentary,' story and animation is not wedded smoothly enough to produce a coherent cinema whole.
Part perky educational film, part goofy New Age recruitment effort, What the Bleep Do We Know? switches between abstract and practical modes.
A film that dares to treat people as smart and deeply curious rather than dumb and deeply cynical.
There are many tantalizing bits, but the overall result is a simplistic story wrapped in barely explained quantum physics and new-age sound bites.
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