MovieChat Forums > K-PAX (2001) Discussion > WTF???? Please someone explain this movi...

WTF???? Please someone explain this movie...

posted 13 years ago by daduka83
90 replies | jump to latest

The movie was so interesting and promising but they had to make it totally confusing and stupid..
What's that all about? I was totally confused in the end... Everything seemed to have sence until last quarter of the movie... I lost it totally then..
Was he an alien or not?
Why didnt he go at the end and where that Betty or whatever had dissapeared and why Prot ended up in a wheelchair..???
What is with his notebook he's been writing all time...??
I like this kinda movies but this one left so many questions unanswered?!?!?!

Please someone enlighten me an explain this movie to me...

Thank you so much...

[–] jamiemiles_safc2006 13 years ago

As far as I can make out from this movie (which I thought was fantastic btw), Robert Porter was a host body for 'Prot'. It is possible that he has a split personality and that seeing his wife and daughter dead tipped him over the edge, but I believe that 'Prot' was some kind of spirit that was using Robert Porter's body to communicate to Dr. Powell and the rest of the people.

However, I have no idea how Bess disappeared, perhaps she just walked out in the melee of everything going on with 'Prot'?

Also, I believe that when 'Prot' left Porter's body, he took all of the energy from it. He was basically in control of Porter whilst living inside him and as soon as he left, Porter became human once again, unable to move or talk after his failed suicide attempt.

I hope this kind of answers your questions. I'm sure people will wholeheartedly disagree with everything I have said and say that I have misread the films plot, but that was just the way I perceived it.

[–] futurehaker 12 years ago

You're on the right track. He's a paranoid schizophrenic who killed his own family.

[–] g-moff 12 years ago

no. Porter killed the murderer of his wife and daughter, remember? Police officer told the story to Dr. Powell.

A man builds. A parasite asks "Where is my share?" - Andrew Ryan

[–] LPurch6636 11 years ago

>>I'm sure people will wholeheartedly disagree with everything I have said and say that I have misread the films plot, but that was just the way I perceived it.<<

But I agree with you fully !

Doesn't anybody here read science fiction?

With this line of thinking, it makes full sense that "Bess" disappeared. Prot took her back to K-PAX, leaving the shell of Porter's body in the pyschiatric unit and K-PAXians showed themselves to be a kind race of people who took care of Porter until they could entrust Robert Porter with Dr. Powell- and his family.

My only problem with the movie was the sad ending, though the little smile on Robert Porter's face at the end showed that he had a full thought process going on there with reasons to be happy even though he could not express it fully.

Flanagan

[–] ciscoochoa-63-228040 11 years ago

i too agree. the writer seems to prove prot is e.t. when prot is taken to the dr.'s astronomer friend to explain where he is from. prot has a deep understanding of all celestial, more so than the astronomers he is explaining this to. i think the writer leads in the direction that porter is indeed a host. good 'nuff for me - i'm buyin' it! i don't know if i would call it a "great" movie, like casablance, for instance, but "near great" - YES!
L8er,
cisco...from mountain view, ca

[–] Son-of-WRA 9 years ago

I happen to agree with you precisely. In fact, I came here to write something just as you had. There were several moments during the film when I kept coming back to movies like "Starman" and "The Hidden" where a benevolent alien takes over a dead human body to carry out a task. This was a very nicely executed film.

[–] bandadrvena 9 years ago

There's one more thing that puzzling me. How Prot did manage to see ultraviolet rays? He is in the human body and therefore used human organs of vision that simply are not able to see these rays.

[–] geearf 8 years ago

Maybe he doesn't see them per se, but feels them some other way?
Or maybe him being in a human body, he still has some of his "body" in there and Robert Porter is just a shell not the full body? don't know.

[–] MiloMindbender 13 years ago

The movie is yet another (substandard) Hollywood remake. However in this one, the director neglects to credit the original writer & director (of Man Facing Southeast) & so it is more of a ripoff than a remake. The original is an amazing work, done with a much more meager budget, modest storyline & subdued acting. I actually liked Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, but he is terrible here. Playing a human/alien (a question that the original perfects & the Hollywood remake just can't emulate because Hollywood movies are always too obvious) is definitely beyond his ability. The director also does nothing to develop characters...it's all about duplicating the scenes/plot of the original, except that the magic of the original was that the driving force was not its plot, but its mood & the mystery surrounding the central character.

[–] lobbyke 13 years ago

You sound resentful.

I don't know about the original, but what concerns K Spacey's human/alien- well I think he managed just very well. I know at least 2 people who were enchanted by the acting.

[–] jonasw_89 13 years ago

You do know that this was in no way based on Man Facing Southeast, right? The author of Man Facing Southeast sued the writer of K-PAX, but it was withdrawn because the author of K-PAX could show he had been working on the book before the release of Man Facing Southeast.

OT: It's left open to your own interpretation, it isn't supposed to give you all the answers. Prot could have been using Porters body but Porter was more or less dead and afterwards just stayed alive, Prot may just have been a way for Porter to go on during and after traumatic events...

[–] Musashi_MijaBloto 12 years ago

Wikipedia says:

"Complaints of plagiarism of the film Man Facing Southeast were made by its makers, and Gene Brewer and others connected with the K-PAX film were subsequently sued in November 2001. The complaint was later withdrawn, and Gene Brewer went on to release a memoir exploring his inspiration for the books called Creating K-PAX - or Are You Sure You Want To Be A Writer?.[1]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-PAX_%28film%29#Controversy

[–] cribera-1 12 years ago

"The author of K-PAX could show he had been working on the book before the release of Man Facing Southeast. "

The original film was released 9 years before the novel, and 15 years before the movie. K-Pax was a ripoff (and a bad ripoff, to make it worse), it wouldn't be the first time Hollywood do this, specially when the authors are not powerful enough to get their rights respected.

[–] DendelionBlu 10 years ago

Your reply doesn't make any sense

You just answered a post that says the author of K-PAX was able to prove he was working on K-PAX before the release of Man Facing Southeast

Get that? That he was working on it before the release of MFSE, not that K-PAX was released before. That isn't relevant here

Apparently he produced proof that he been working on it before

Did I stress out the concept enough for you?

Follow the latest films around the world!! http://7films.dendelionblu.me

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[–] pogojoe 9 years ago

No. You're wrong. The movie is an original film based on the novel K-Pax.

[–] galatia3 12 years ago

I suggest you to re-watch this movie :)

Actually the clue about who is Prot really are, is included in this scene :
01:43:43 - 01:43:48
Prot : "Now that you have found Robert, please take good care of him."

This line explains what happens at the ending of this Great Movie :)

[–] Maureen5 12 years ago

Hi Galatia3 (love the name)

Forget her name offhand, but the patient Prot took with him, I would have thought that her physical body would have still been at the institution (like Prot's). Meaning, her Spirit had gone with Prot, leaving behind the body?

[–] Musashi_MijaBloto 12 years ago

I noticed the same inconsistency. On the other hand prot box with things he collected I think also dissapeared, so it is apparently possible to transport physical objects, too.

[–] galatia3 12 years ago

Hi Maureen :)
I assume Prot is an Alien, he control Porter's body, that's why he leave Porter when he was going home (K-PAX). Beth is Beth, if Prot take her spirit, then she will die. So, i think Prot take her body too :)
btw, if you like this movie, maybe you can watch Starman (1984), that movie somehow resemble K-PAX :)

[–] auhag 9 years ago

Galatia3,
You got same perspective like me, similar ...
I know where is Bess.

Find out why and where .
I love this movie a lot that made me search for blogs like this but I can't tell my answer just that easy.

Clue about Bess, she said: I know who you are.
And also that letter from Bess.

Email me for your questions or guessing at : [email protected]

I wish the producer could give a grant price for this .

Is very smart.

[–] aceventura2013 9 years ago

If he only controls Porter's body, why do he react on the water sprinkler and the hypnosis?

[–] g-moff 12 years ago

exactly.

A man builds. A parasite asks "Where is my share?" - Andrew Ryan

[–] wuhugm 12 years ago

K-PAXians are beings that evolved so much further than mankind to the point they discard their physical bodies

think of it like a spirit

prot said that when he's on earth he looks like human, as that is the best configuration, but he never said whether he shapeshifted into a human or inhabit artificially created human body

as the movie progress we came to known that prot's body is known as Robert Porter, and he is a real human being, so we can rule out the possibility that his body is artificially created

prot also said he can only take one person to K-PAX, I think most viewers assume that means one person excluding prot himself but the truth is he means 1 is as 1 person including his body

prot said to Mark to take care of Robert since he's going to switch to another body, which he originally didn't want to do, since Robert has abandoned life and prot took the body as his own... well, until Mark discovered Robert, and prot then trusts Mark to take care of Robert

prot fulfilled his promise and took a person, Bess, to K-PAX, means Bess became a new host for prot

K-PAXian are able to inhibit the bodies of other organism and present themselves like another personality, as in Robert's case, prot became the dominant personality because Robert's has lost all the will to live and surrender his body to prot in it's entirety

K-PAXian "light travel" doesn't require any mechanism or device so it's most likely only knowledge is required to do that, as in how to walk or swim, human just don't know how to do that yet, similar to teleportation I guess

[–] dsl46016 12 years ago

Thank you :), best explanation of the movie i've seen.

Better to die laughing, than to perish in boredom.

[–] lourencorp 12 years ago

nest time try to make your own interpretations thats why movies exist! thats there essence! to play to question and entertain our brains, not others...

[–] scott_1589 12 years ago

I had pretty much come to the same conclusion that Prot did exist as a spirit entity through light travel. That Robert Porter was the human body used by Prot to get him the care he needed, since he and Robert were friends since they were children.

But your theory on Bess becoming the new host for Prot; then teleporting to K-Pax connects the dots. It makes total sense, in a mysterious sci-fi way. (The only question that lingered in my mind was "how can Beth theoretically vanish while Prot simply leaves as an energy being?")... He left in Beths body just like he vanished for a few days in Prots body when he was still in lockdown in the Psychaitric Ward. Thanks for that. :D

[–] CameronWalker01 10 years ago

The ending of the movie is supposed to leave you guessing. Was he really an alien (or have an alien host) or just a guy who went insane and suffers from psychosis? You could make a good argument for either ending to the movie, but personally I like to believe he was an alien. XD It was a great film. :)

[–] RyoGTO 9 years ago

No it's really not supposed to leave you guessing whether or not he was an alien. The movie tried to subtly make it quite clear, but to anyone observing carefully it was blatantly clear.

First, Prot appears in a ray of light in the beginning of the movie; then it's mentioned that 300mg of thorazine and haldol have no effect on him; later the doctor mentions he can see UV rays and no human can do that; next Prot accurately maps out a star system with equations no one on earth knows--not even the top astronomers; after that he disappears from a mental hospital only to reappear days later; he cures several patients; bess actually disappears with him. Those are just the ones off the top of my head, I am sure there are more I am missing.

Tell me, how would anyone think he was simply an insane person suffering from psychosis?

[–] spkeck 9 years ago

The director and screenwriter said it was supposed to keep you guessing.

[–] aguering 9 years ago

There's nothing to guess. Bess disappeared so he obviously is an alien.

[–] Bullish_Captain 8 years ago

No it's really not supposed to leave you guessing whether or not he was an alien. The movie tried to subtly make it quite clear, but to anyone observing carefully it was blatantly clear.

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[–] SharkSoul 12 years ago

(Wuhugms Conclusion) This is the exact conclusion that I came to after just viewing the film for the first time. I remember catching the trailer years ago and never got round to it but what a great film it was.

I'm a big fan of Spaceys anyway after seeing Usual Suspects, Se7en, American Beauty and so forth. Great film, I thought the bond between him and Bridges in this was balanced perfectly.

Raises some issues on life, death, existensialism and whether there is something more out there without the 'X-files Tune' playing in the background whilst you read this.

[–] ehelen7 11 years ago

SharkSoul
I agree that Spacey is the best actor out there.

I don't think that this movie involves any alien existence. We know so little about our own minds. I do think that Robert Porter suffered from such horrific trauma seeing his family raped and murdered that his only way of dealing with it was to create an alternate personality...Prot.

The psychiatrist may have found out his trauma but it only resulted in Spacey becoming catatonic. The sheriff in New Mexico said that Porter was "brainy" and Porter just learned as much as possible about astrophysics.

Bess? Bess just left during the melee of so many things happening at the psych institute. At least Porter was able to revive the women in the ward and Bess went free...finally found a home after being homeless for so very long.

I am a family nurse practitioner and I have seen what trauma has done to people..

Good movie.

[–] pulkstr 11 years ago

You are wrong in everything you write. I think you need to see the film again, perhaps then you will understand. :) Good luck!

[–] TimDbase 10 years ago

I totally agree with ehelen7. Watch the movie again with this idea in mind.

[–] drakkar 10 years ago

I've tried both, and both takes are "unlikely". That's the beauty of the film, no matter how you look at it, it remains "unexplained".
IMO, it boils down to what kind of unlikeliness you're prone to accept - the unlikeliness of Prot actually being an alien, or the unlikeliness of him being a cutting edge astronomer, psychiatrist, having the ability to dis- and reappear from a closed ward at will, to shut down the (probably well-protected) surveillance camera at will, and in sum to manipulate (and "heal") Dr. Powell the way he did.

In Cod we trust.

[–] TimDbase 10 years ago

Exactly. You are right. It doesn't even matter. Both Should be the same. It is true in both cases. A Contraposition?

[–] RyoGTO 9 years ago

First, Prot appears in a ray of light in the beginning of the movie; then it's mentioned that 300mg of thorazine and haldol have no effect on him; later the doctor mentions he can see UV rays up to 400 angstroms and no human can do that; next Prot accurately maps out a star system with equations no one on earth knows--not even the top astronomers; after that he disappears from a mental hospital only to reappear days later; he cures several patients; bess actually disappears with him (no one's ever escaped that hospital said the director of the hospital, how would bess become a master escapee all of a sudden?), and the security camera goes out exactly at that time when Robert Porter becomes catatonic again at the exact moment sunlight hits the room at 5:51. You really missed something, or a lot.

[–] blk_lng 9 years ago

Yes, ehelen7, that's the way I see it too.

[–] Stardust21 12 years ago

great interpretation. :)

[–] Imdb11168 12 years ago

Thanks Wuhugm

I think your answer was bang on and well written, 2 minutes and i got all the missing links to the movie

Darkness lies an inch ahead

[–] chota_crusader 12 years ago

Wow, this makes me see the movie again in a new light. thanks

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] compact_disc_rack 11 years ago

So what about the "soul" of Bess? It's worth *beep* and he'll just "inhabit" her body? What would be the point of that? To put her human body on display for the K-pax-people?

[–] jetkot 10 years ago

loved your explanation.
that's exactly how i wanted the movie to be, i would have been hurt to know that he was not an alien

[–] DarkWandererAU 8 years ago

My hats off to you, sir. More or less the same conclusion I came to...except I missed the point about Proot saying to Mark "take care of Robert", cause of course he is going to leave the body he inhabited behind. I also missed the point about Bess being his new vessel. Bravo

[–] guardiaimperial 12 years ago

i think some of you missed the whole point of the original question. I believe the correct interpretation is that of jamiemiles_safc2006

[–] Stardust21 12 years ago

It is left to interpretation because it relies on whether or not you believe Aliens exist....

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[–] jas54-1 12 years ago

Gingerli1968's answer is the best one in this thread.

[–] g-moff 12 years ago

why so? it is simply a question of a movie's internal coherence and plausibility, not of the real world.

A man builds. A parasite asks "Where is my share?" - Andrew Ryan

[–] ekedin 12 years ago

I've watched this movie so many times. It's by far my favorite movie.

From what I gather, Prot is an alien that needs a host body to be able to experience Earth like we do so he can get a better understanding of it. When Robert Porter was young, Prot made contact with him and established a relationship. So they became good friends. (Remember, they used to look at the stars together? "175 years old and 17 years old" He must have been younger when he first knew him when he was describing Roberts dad's casket. I assume he took Robert to K-Pax, but that's only possible when he is "melded" with Robert. Robert wouldn't understand how to light travel.

Bess was chosen to go at the end so Prot melded with her and took her to K-Pax.

The reason Prot left Robert is because he knew that he would be in good hands with Dr. Powell and I think he knew that Dr. Powell would figure out the story.

I would assume Prot decided to keep Robert with him on K-Pax originally because of the terrible thing that happened to him. He would have drowned himself otherwise and Prot cared about him.

[–] mr-bryce 11 years ago

the plot is irrelevant. this movie is an opportunity to look at our society with the same critical sense we have when looking at the middle ages. all the barbarity and torment and nonsense that average people wont see because they fit within the contemporary mindset. the movie is about a very gifted person that chooses to be as detached and objective and beneficial as possible. someone exceptionally uninfluenced. i absolutely love some of the lines that are hinting towards caracteristic neuroses of our society. if you want just the regular plot then lets say that Prot is an alien, and he came to possess Robert's body right after his family was murdered. Prot left beaming up a ray of sunshine. Really, that is unimportant