Susan Granger’s review of “What the #$*! Do We Know?” (Samuel Goldwyn/Roadside)
Why do we go to the movies? For some, it’s escapist entertainment. For others, movies open a world of knowledge and ideas, stimulating thinking and conversation. That’s where this fits in. Following the story of Amanda (Marlee Matlin), an unhappy, depressed photographer living in Portland, Oregon, this film delves into spirituality. Namely, who are we and why are we here? As Amanda experiences multiple versions of her life, exploring situations in which a different decision or reaction could reshape her entire existence, she learns to change by altering the way she thinks about herself and the world. Talk about enlightenment – and infinite possibilities! Combining documentary-like interviews, inventive animation, even melodrama, film-makers William Arntz, Mark Vicente and Betsy Chase venture into New Age metaphysics, exploring how each individual creates his or her own reality and how our choices impact our lives – ideas touched on in “Sliding Doors,” “The Matrix,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Minority Report.” Whether you believe in this quantum physics concept or not, it’s so curiously provocative that one can perhaps forgive the repetition of the “talking heads” who are not identified until the final credits and a ridiculously farcical Polish wedding. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “What the #$*! Do We Know?” is a positive, uniquely perceptive 7 – although there’s no excuse for the stupidity of the title which denigrates and trivializes the inherent message of the movie. And if you enjoy cinema that makes you think, I suggest you rent the far-better “Mindwalk” (1991) in which Liv Ullman, Sam Waterson and John Heard meet at the Abbey of Mont St. Michel in France to discuss different approaches to life’s dilemmas.
