What the #$*! Do We Know?!, (2004)

Movie Info

Movie Info

Rating
Not Rated

Documentary/Fiction Not rated, but should be R due to sex scene.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move;and nothing will be impossible for you.’
Matthew 17:19-20

Even if you do not agree with many of the theological statements made by various scientists and philosophers in this film, you will find yourself stimulated and challenged by it. Produced by computer software entrepreneur William Arntz, said to be a devout Buddhist, and co-written by Arntz, director Mark Vicente and producer Betsy Chasse, the film is a blend of fiction and interviews with 14 scientists and philosophers. I haven’t seen anything quite like this since Waking Life.

All the interviewees espouse Quantum physics as the answer, not to understanding the universe and its mysteries (after all, Q P stems from the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle), but to living successfully within it and attaining responsibility for our lives. There is one segment based on a Japanese scientists study of what happens to water when it is either blessed or curse, complete with microscopic images of the change in its structure—this will be of great interest to prayer groups claiming that “prayer changes things.”

Oscar winner Marlee Matlin plays a photographer, jaded by a failed romance. Thus she dreads her new assignment of covering a big wedding. At first all she notices are the leering males, even believing that the groom is on the make for other women at the celebration. As we follow her throughout her day and then at the wedding, dozens of segments of the interviews make their comments, until finally our photographer begins to abandon her old way of looking at her world and opens up to new possibilities.

The film is loaded with eye-catching special effects. But it is some of the comments that will both stimulate and challenge the viewer. We will want to argue with those who trash the organized church and its view of a judgmental God—while at the same time acknowledging that much of what the critic is saying is too true. Some will dismiss the film as another New Age affair, but for those intrigued by the first of The Matrix series, the film has much to offer. Most intriguing is the claim made that when Jesus taught that if we had the faith as little as the grain of a mustard seed, we could move a mountain, only Quantum physics makes sense of the statement. This film could become a cult film for young adults, so by all means catch it when it come around, either at the art theater near you, or on video. It is a film that will require more than one viewing: I came away with my head awhirl, so full of ideas is it! (Oh yes, all those symbols are pronounced “Bleep” when speaking the name of the film aloud.)

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