What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? (2004)

Directors:

William Arntz
Betsy Chasse

Writers:

William Arntz (written by)
Betsy Chasse (written by)

Release Date:

27 November 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

a quantum fable

Plot:

"WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW?!" is a radical departure from convention. It demands a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown...

Plot Keywords:

Reenactment | Quantum Mechanics | Science | Quantum Physics | Semi Documentary

Cast

Marlee Matlin	...	Lead
Elaine Hendrix	...	Jennifer
John Ross Bowie	...	Elliot
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Reggie
Barry Newman	...	Frank
Larry Brandenburg	...	Bruno
Daniela Serra	...	Bride
James Langston Drake	...	Groom (as Jame Drake)
Michele Mariana	...	Tour Guide (as Michelle Mariana)
Armin Shimerman	...	Older Man (in subway)
Robert Blanche	...	Bob
Pavel Mikoloski	...	Priest
Alex Rogers	...	Guy #1
Tin Tran	...	Guy #2
Leslie Taylor	...	Bridesmaid

Also Known As:

What the Bleep Do We Know!? (International: English title) (informal title) (USA)
Sacred Science (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

109 min | Germany:113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

German | English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | Argentina:Atp | Iceland:L | UK:12A (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:o.Al. | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | USA:R | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Lord of the Wind

Trivia:

The movie that Amanda is watching is _Chasing Destiny (2001)_ , which was originally called "Romantic Moritz" as shown on the marquee.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Depiction of quantum mechanics in the movie bears no resemblance to the real theory of that name. In particular, the common misconception that the "observer effect" is dependent upon a sapient, human observer is incorrect. If any object interacts with any other, and either requires information regarding the current state and properties of the other, then that constitutes an observation.

Quotes:

Ramtha: [narration] So how can you continue to see the world as real, if the self that is determining it to be real is intangible?

Movie Connections:

References Chasing Destiny (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Disco Inferno

Terrible, misleading movie

As a physics student, I've become aware of many idiot professors, and other so-called experts, in the field. As I continue with my studies, I learn more and more about real physics experiments going on, and about the people who are doing things right.

Then, my friends tell me of this "physics movie" they want to see. Knowing nothing of it, I'm excited, hoping that the information will be presented well.

I've done REAL quantum mechanics; this wasn't it.

This movie starts with the basic assumption that anything that occurs to a subatomic particle can, and will, occur to you, if you just open your eyes. Let's think about that, for just a moment.

Our bodies are composed of somewhere around 10^30 such subatomic particles. That is a million billion billion billion particles! The more "mysterious" quantum effects of just two particles can have a 50% probability of cancelling each other out completely. As you add more and more particles into the mix, it becomes almost impossible to have a large net quantum result. To tell us to believe that this is a valid assumption, with no rationality behind it...it's just stupid.

My friend, also in physics, and I counted 3 facts during the course of this movie. But they were presented in the most misleading manner I've EVER SEEN.

I cannot say as much for the neural portion of the movie, as I have not had any kind of medical training. It seemed as though it might have had a slight bit more truth to it, remembering my days in biology, but I cannot say.

At least this film had a redeeming quality: the dancing peptides (or whatever they actually were) scene. Not to ruin the invaluable plot that drives this movie, but the main character goes to a wedding, where she sees all different types of personalities "driven" by their peptides*, and then the film cuts to the dance floor, where we are spliced between people dancing, sometimes surrounded by CG peptides, and a fully CG scene, filled with dancing peptides. The film, at that point, was trying to tell us how we're "addicted to emotions," so we're treated to the full song of that smash hit, "Addicted to Love."

This scene was redeeming, because anyone who could go through THAT scene, and still take this movie seriously...well, you are the ones that need to "open your eyes."