WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?! (see also http://www.whatthebleep.com/) is a new type of film. It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. The protagonist, Amanda, played by Marlee Matlin, finds herself in a fantastic Alice in Wonderland experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality.
She is literally plunged into a swirl of chaotic occurrences, while the characters she encounters on this odyssey reveal the deeper, hidden knowledge she doesn’t even realize she has asked for. Like every hero, Amanda is thrown into crisis, questioning the fundamental premises of her life – that the reality she has believed in about how men are, how relationships with others should be, and how her emotions are affecting her work isn’t reality at all!
As Amanda learns to relax into the experience, she conquers her fears, gains wisdom, and wins the keys to the great secrets of the ages, all in the most entertaining way. She is then no longer the victim of circumstances, but she is on the way to being the creative force in her life. Her life will never be the same.
The fourteen top scientists and mystics interviewed in documentary style serve as a modern day Greek Chorus. In an artful filmic dance, their ideas are woven together as a tapestry of truth. The thoughts and words of one member of the chorus blend into those of the next, adding further emphasis to the film’s underlying concept of the interconnectedness of all things.
The chorus members act as hosts who live outside of the story, and from this Olympian view, comment on the actions of the characters below. They are also there to introduce the Great Questions framed by both science and religion, which divides the film into a series of acts. Through the course of the film, the distinction between science and religion becomes increasingly blurred, since we realize that, in essence, both science and religion describe the same phenomena.
The film employs animation to realize the radical knowledge that modern science has unearthed in recent years. Powerful cinematic sequences explore the inner-workings of the human brain. Quirky animation introduces us to the smallest form of consciousness in the body – the cell. Dazzling visuals reinforce the film’s message in an exciting, powerful way. Done with humor, precision, and irreverence, these scenes are only part of what makes this film unique in the history of cinema, and a true box-office winner.
Originally released in February 2004 in one theater in Yelm, Washington, What the BLEEP Do We Know!? went on to become the fifth highest grossing documentary in the United States, with ticket sales of $12 Million.
Shunned by all movie distributors, the producers set about distributing and marketing the movie themselves in a “proof of concept” strategy to show theater owners there was indeed a market for spiritually oriented films that catered to audiences’ intelligence, not their lowest common denominator.
Although rejected by every major film festival (Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Cannes, etc…),What the BLEEP did get entered in five smaller festivals, and won in every one. This, along with the grass roots, word-of-mouth campaign, kept the film in theaters for weeks and months on end. After five months of surprising box office numbers, the film attracted the attention of Samuel Goldwyn Films, and the producers entered into a distribution deal. The word-of-mouth buzz continued and the film showed real staying power (it played in one theater in Phoenix for 40+ consecutive weeks).
Following its theatrical run, FOX picked up the DVD rights and released What the BLEEP Do We Know!? March 15, 2005. The DVD immediately shot to the top of Amazon’s best selling list, and was named Amazon’s #1 DVD surprise of the year. To date it has sold over a million copies.
International distribution soon followed. Currently the film is now theatrically distributed in over 35 countries worldwide.
A host of further developments followed. A series of conferences was held featuring the speakers from the film, along with other notable leaders in the consciousness arena.BLEEP study groups spontaneously arose around the country, then the world, with people who did not want to let the ideas put forth in the film die, and who wanted to investigate and discuss them with like minded explorers. Bleep Study Groups continue to be formed around the world.
Two books followed, a soundtrack CD and finally the ultimate What the BLEEP DVD – Down the Rabbit Hole, with two extended versions of the film, along with hours of additional interviews.
Called by the media “the little film that could,” and “the critic proof movie,” What the BLEEP Do We Know!? is considered the first break-out film in the genre of Spiritual Cinema, and continues to find a new audience to this day.