This reality-shattering film is an enigma to most film festival programmers who have no idea where to list it in their catalogs. And list it they will because this film is powerful and mind bending, with audiences begging for it as word of mouth spreads slowly across the country. It is uncategorizable because the film, created by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente, actually blends three different types of filmmaking with at least as many genres. It is a documentary interviewing 14 of the most thought-provoking scientists, academics and mystics of our time. It is a narrative feature-film starring Marlee Matlin, Elaine Hendrix and a host of other recognizable actors. It is an animated exploration of the science of our inner beings with giggling, evil, sexy, jiggling amoeba-like cells that, unbeknownst to us, run our lives. It’s a romantic comedy, a drama, and a scientific treatise. But the weirdest thing about this film is that it works! It’s a great movie. The best kind of movie. You learn, you laugh, you feel compassion and intrigue, and most of all you feel inspired by your own potential by the end of the film. It is truly a life-changing experience. I bet by now you’re really wondering what this film is about!
“What The !@$%& Do We Know?” tells us that life as we know it is really much more subjective than we generally think it is and asks the question, “who is responsible for my life being what it is today?” The answer, of course, is you. You are responsible for your life being what it is today because from a scientific standpoint (the mystics and scientists tell us), your life is purely what you perceive it to be. At this point, we are introduced to Marlee Matlin as Amanda, a bitter photographer who is so wrapped up in her past failures that she is practically blind to her present life. Until this day, when for some unknown reason, the Universe decides to show her in great detail exactly how reality works.
 |  |  |
Her first tutorial comes from a young kid on a basketball court who shows her the science behind the truth that our focus on a physical piece of matter, say a basketball, is actually what makes the matter exist in any one place and time. The film shows us that before we look at a piece of matter, it actually exists in more than one place at the same time, and it is our act of looking that fixes the matter and makes it a real and solid thing in time and space. This is serious quantum physics, people! And it doesn’t stop there. “What The Bleep” continues on to take us into the cosmos, the brain and the smallest cells in the body, with the help of some pretty amazing animation.
But the real beauty of this film is that the brilliant minds interviewed throughout (a who's-who of quantum physicists, biologists, neurologists and modern day mystics) are willing to talk about how this incredibly scientific quantum information affects our daily lives, and, if you haven’t figured it out already, our spirituality. And hey, if you’re a little slow on the pickup, all you really have to do is watch Amanda (Marlee Matlin) stumble through the rabbit hole into some odd environments (like our brains, where electrical storms between synapses are the norm) to see how reality works.
She is our example of the average miserable human, bumbling through an uncharted life of bad behavior, confusing decisions and miserable relationships, until this day when she learns the potential of the human mind and body to be a conscious part of creating a life worth living. And there, my friends, is the reason to see this film. Because it provides factual, scientific evidence for why life is worth living, and how it can be inspiring and magical. You will leave the theater not with a Hollywood high, but with a true 1960’s high, where you can smell change a-coming. In fact, it’s probably starting right now inside your body on a cellular level. And for once, that’s a good thing! Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes. View the movie trailer...
To find out more and see where “What The Bleep” is playing, go to:
http://www.whatthebleep.com/home/
You can also buy the DVD from Amazon.com by clicking the link to the right ->
Anna Darrah
Santa Fe, New Mexico
8 June, 2004 |
No comments:
Post a Comment