Barnes & Noble

This keenly written, engrossing drama takes off on the strength of Kevin Spacey’s dazzling performance -- a real tour de force, and easily his best since American Beauty. K-PAX starts off by asking a deceptively simple question: What would become of a man who claimed to be an extraterrestrial visiting Earth in human form? He’d be institutionalized -- exactly the fate that befalls a mild-mannered, seemingly average fellow who calls himself "Prot"(Spacey). His fanciful story impresses staff psychiatrist Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges), a driven but compassionate professional convinced that he can help restore this particular patient's sanity. Under the direction of Iain Softley (Wings of the Dove), K-PAX vacillates from low comedy to high drama, and even takes on the aspect of a police procedural when Powell undertakes an investigation of Prot’s past in an attempt to determine his true identity. The shifts in narrative direction and tone are achieved seamlessly, thanks in no small part to Softley’s splendid cast, which also includes Mary McCormack as Powell’s understanding wife, Alfre Woodard as the institution’s no-nonsense administrator, and David Patrick Kelly as a fellow patient who takes a shine to Prot. For the most part, though K-Pax revolves around Spacey and Bridges, and for their interplay alone it definitely warrants repeated screenings. The DVD features an alternate ending shot by Softley, who also contributes a feature-length commentary. Behind-the-scenes footage and cast and crew interviews enliven a "making of" documentary, and there’s also a gallery of still photographs taken on the set by Bridges. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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. Karl Williams

Los Angeles Times

If K-PAX's conclusion is a bit too glib, too pat for what it's trying to do, it's an honorable attempt to create a thoughtful entertainment, and it's got the kind of acting worth visiting from another planet to experience. Kenneth Turan

Product Details

• UPC: 025192038136
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Time: 2:03:00