All wrapped into one with a ribbon on it

Hello. What the fuck did I just watch? That is quite the first thought that occurred whilst watching... But there's more to that.  

Plot: Umm this one is quite simple, we see a mysterious woman who seduces lonely men. 

Cast: Not much really.. Scarlett Johansson. Rest of the cast are actual people shot by hidden cameras, or just insignificant supporting people. 

Thoughts: Well, this movie doesn't seem much, but it actually is a very deep and complex piece. If you ever seen "2001: The Space Odyssey" or even "The Enemy" you'll know. These are the films I'd likely compare this one to ( I know it is very ambitious to compare anything to Space Odyssey, but some visions and plot developments reminded me of that movie). I'll get into more details below. Spoilers!

Character development: Ok, firstly - Scarlett's character (presumably) is an alien, send to earth on a mission. At the begging of the movie, we see her sort of changing places with another woman. That means, the lady before her have failed, so Scarlett (she didn't have a name, so I'm calling her that) steps in. Her mission is, well, to seduce and kill men. She has this sort of supervisor, the man on the motorcycle, that somehow knows what she's doing, he takes care of her. Scarlett has no emotions, she just makes small talk with her preys and quietly observes humankind. She sees that people are attracted to pretty things. She wears nice clothes, makeup, while talking to men she always asks "Do you think I'm pretty?". She suddenly feels sorry for one of her victim, lets him go, and that sort of changes her. Now here is when we see a development of her character. She runs away from her supervisor, she tries human food, she feels compassion, even tries sex, but it all kind of feels wrong, she is confused. She must of thought, that these sudden feelings for humans killed the lady before her. She runs away again, until her beauty gets her into trouble. At the end of the movie, she almost gets raped, until the raper accidentally scratches her skin and reveals her true self. Then naturally he is disgusted and scared of her, so he sets her on fire. Sorry, spoilers, told ya. That only proves, that people are shallow and only care of exterior beauty.



What I liked: I loved this movie. It is for those who appreciate true cinema, wants to dig deeper. That kind of movie keeps you at night, makes you think of theories, what it all might have meant. Also, I loved the surrealistic approach, the way of showing how men are being killed. Very aesthetic and artistic. Hidden message about the inside beauty was a nice touch. This kind of movie needs to be analysed as close as it is possible.

What I didn't like: It was slow. And very confusing. You need to see it twice to truly appreciate it. I bet half the people who watched thought that the movie was the biggest waste of time - it made no sense.  No surprise the ratting on IMDB is so low, only 6.3 for this hidden masterpiece.

Plot: PROT is a patient in a mental hospital and he claims that he came from a planet called K-PAX. His psychiatrist tries to help with all means possible (yes, even hypnosis) but soon even he starts to doubt his own knowledge and maybe PROT is telling the truth???

Cast: Great Oscar-winning bunch -- Kevin Spacey, brilliant as always. Never lets your down with his performance. Eating a whole banana with its peels 27 times -- now that is a dedication. Jeff Bridges is brilliant as well, tho it was a bit weird for me to see him all so clean, hehe, I mean, not his usual "dude" Belowski self. Shout out to David Patrick Kelly, you sneaky thing, I recognize you from Twin Peaks. 

What I liked: This was a very good example of a very complex and multi-layered movie. First, it made you think it was a science-fiction, then it turned into drama and eventually it was a murder mystery. Kudos for keeping an audience interested throughout. Performances were brilliant, A plus cast, what else to expect. 

I liked the various supporting characters, with unique and interesting stories as well. 

What I didn't like: It made me mad, because, you can try to guess what is happening, like literally explain what is happening, but then movie takes a turn and messes everything up. And then you stand corrected until some new facts are presented and you start to make new conclusions just to be proven wrong again. 

I didn't like that a lot of questions were left unanswered or left for interpretation. Like the fact that PROT was able to see ultraviolet (how?) or what happened to poor Bess at the end of the movie?

Thoughts: And eventually, both me and Jeff Bridges' character were left to wonder weather PROT was real or just a friction of imagination. Like multiple personality disorder or some other explainable outcome. Maybe it was actually another person maybe it actually was PROT, just borrowing the body, to be able to do his mission on earth. Again, a lot of "maybies". 

Well, I really really enjoyed this piece. Great cast, great story, brilliant performances and plot that just keeps you guessing. 8,5 from me, IMDB it is a little underrated in my opinion - 7,4.