K-PAX (2001)
You know me, I love myself some good science fiction, I love it even more when it has something to do with aliens. Add mystery and some mental disorder - I'm all yours. That was the case with this movie.
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.
