FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!?
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
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