A picture that is sure to make you ask questions
I was able to watch Ian Softley's film for the first time when I was a teenager. The picture "K-Pax" struck me with its versatility and a kind of open ending, which will make me wonder about the truth of certain judgments in the film.
An excellent script, a great pair of main characters and a pleasant narrative — all this is given by the creators of the picture. This is not a drama or an action movie, not a thriller or a comedy. But these are precisely these genres in an unimaginable combination, which is rarely found in projects of this kind.
Jeff Bridges appears in the image of an intelligent and experienced doctor who studies with interest the phenomenon of an unknown patient, which for him becomes the one who calls himself a Protom, a resident of the unknown planet Ka-Pax. Bridges performs in an unusual role in this film. After all, he usually has to be seen as a brutal character. Here, he opens up to me from a completely different angle, once again reminding me how actors, and he in particular, are able to transform on the screen.
I can say the same about Kevin Spacey's excellent performance. Watching his character is a pleasure. The viewer will be glued to the screen throughout the film, trying to feel and understand each scene based on the most interesting dialogues of the characters. And at different times you will be visited by contradictory conclusions. At one moment you will decide that Prot is insane, and at others you will really be sure that he is an alien.
The film will allow the viewer to become a detective, trying to cling to this or that fact. The picture will give you the opportunity to feel yourself in a truly fantastic story, although events will take place, as if, without going beyond the familiar world. You will be able to smile, but not laugh, as at a comedy, you will feel a pinch in your chest, but you will not dare to attribute excessive drama to the film.
The picture is beautiful and ready to fascinate. I still remember seeing her for the first time on TV. It was late at night, and the end of the movie and the end credits, that I saw in a dark room all alone, all this haunted me. After all, the film was so hooked and at the same time left some kind of understatement that it was even bitter that I could not answer the main question of the film. Which one? You will ask yourself when you watch this great movie. And I hope you will share with me this warm feeling from the production, the acting and the amazing story of the Proto from the planet Ka-Pax.
"K-Pax" is an emerald and now a classic of world cinema. At least for me. This is a film that, even decades later, will make people wonder about the solution to the story shown. Everyone will give an answer for themselves who the Prot is. And don't be surprised if at some point you suddenly change your mind to the exact opposite. After all, this is the magic of this film — to give the viewer the opportunity to decide for himself. And that's nice.
9 out of 10