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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video

WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!?
Directed by: Mark Vicente, William Arntz & Betsy Chasse.
Produced by: William Arntz & Betsy Chasse.
Written by: William Artnz, Betsy Chasse & Matthew Hoffman.
Director of Photography: Mark Vicente.
Edited by: Jonathan P. Shaw.
Music by: Christopher Franke.
Released by: Samuel Goldwyn/Roadside.
Country of Origin: USA. 108 min. Not Rated.
With: Marlee Matlin, Elaine Hendrix, Robert Bailey Jr. & Barry Newman.

What the Bleep Do We Know!? is an appropriate title, since the average viewer who stumbles across this wildly incoherent mess will inevitably mutter: "What the bleep am I watching?"

Part-documentary, New Age babble, and CGI cheesefest, this totally incomprehensible film supposedly focuses on quantum physics and how the brain processes the surrounding environment of the world and beyond. Or something like that. Fourteen experts speak with unbridled enthusiasm on matters ranging from how the Caribbean Indians first realized Columbus was coming to whether the universe is empty or occupied. There is also talk about going down a rabbit hole, though whether one finds Keanu Reeves or Bugs Bunny or someone else at the bottom of the hole is not clear.

Linear thought is not a concept advocated by any of the speakers, nor the folks behind the camera. What is obvious is the filmmakers' love of their CGI effects budget. The screen is littered with inane imagery including dozens of basketballs bouncing at once, water flowing backwards into a fountain, and particles of water filled with human faces raining across the camera's view.

Intercut with this hodgepodge are dramatic sequences with a visibly embarrassed Marlee Matlin as a harried photographer who keeps taking prescription anxiety pills to function. Of course, being cast in a film like this would make anyone head to the nearest pharmacy. Matlin finds herself in unlikely situations where she is challenged, harassed and cajoled to challenge the monotony of everyday life and to open her mind to the wonders of the world around her. Or something like that. The Oscar winner is clearly as confused about her surroundings as is the audience. Phil Hall
September 10, 2004

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