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Plot

The 1995 novel by Dr. Gene Brewer becomes this drama from director Iain Softley. After a mugging incident at New York's Grand Central Station, Prot (Kevin Spacey), a man who claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX, is turned over to a public mental hospital and the care of Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges). When medication fails to alter Prot's insistence that he is visiting from another world on a fact-finding mission, Powell gets more involved with his patient, who seems to have a calming effect on the other residents of his ward. At first convinced that Prot is a delusional who can be treated, Powell begins to wonder if his bizarre patient's story is true, particularly after the hospital's doctors find that Prot possesses the baffling ability to see ultraviolet light. As the date grows nearer when Prot claims he must leave Earth (a "class BA-III planet"), Powell becomes increasingly concerned that a psychiatric breakthrough must occur by then. K-PAX (2001) co-stars Alfre Woodard and Mary McCormack.
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for a sequence of violent images, and brief language and sensuality.
Genre(s):
Action,Drama,Horror
Run Time:
123min.
Theatrical Release Date:
10/26/2001
DVD Release Date:
03/26/2002
Distributor(s):
Universal
Director(s):
Iain Softley
Starring:
Kevin Spacey , Jeff Bridges , Mary McCormack , Alfre Woodard , David Patrick Kelly
Themes:
Benign Aliens,Doctors and Patients,Mysterious Strangers,Therapy
Tone:
Atmospheric,Bittersweet,Compassionate,Earnest,Poignant,Elegant,Enigmatic
Keywords:
alien [not human],delusion,doctor,mental-institution,mental-patient,parent/child-relationship,psychiatry
Country of Origin:
USA (10-26-2001)
Language:
English