In Iain Softley's atmospheric K-PAX, a man (Kevin Spacey, in a low-key and effective performance) -- who may or may not be from another planet -- apparently materializes in the middle of New York's Grand Central Station, and is shortly placed in a psychiatric hospital under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Mark Powell (an underutilized Jeff Bridges). As the doctor attempts to determine who this "prot" is and where he came from, prot (with a lower-case "p") begins to have an effect on the other patients, and on the doctor himself.

The film is based on the sixteen psychiatric sessions detailed in "K-PAX," the first of Gene Brewer's projected trilogy (the second novel -- "On a Beam of Light," which covers sessions 17-32 -- was published this past February). The novels use the literary trick of appearing to be an actual case study, with the author appearing to be the doctor in the case -- he is "Dr. Mark Brewer" in the books. The film rightly eschews this device, and the result is a quiet, compelling, and ulitmately powerful story about fear, hope and redemption.

(Note: VideoTropic reviews and previews are written under a strict "no-spoilers" policy.)

K-PAX has several apparent influences. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, of course, is the most obvious; but there are should also be nods to Man Facing Southeast and even Field of Dreams. There are many twists in the plot, with each apparently negating the previous in terms of the truth behind prot, and you may well find yourself rethinking the ending once again after the final credits.

Technical

Video:	Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio:	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] ENGLISH: DTS 5.1 [CC] FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:	Spanish, Closed Captions
Chapters:	18

K-PAX is a twilight-lit film of the sort that can be problematic in the transfer to video; however, Universal has done a very good job of mastering it for DVD. Cinematographer John Matheson takes unusual pains to record fine details in extrememly low illumination, and these appear on the DVD without problems. Some slight edge enhancement is visible in a very few high-contrast daytime scenes, but it is not distracting. Grain is not a consideration, and when colors are pushed they appear without wavering.

Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks appear on the disc, and we could not hear a significant difference between them. Audio was clean and well-balanced, and presented a good audio space. Use of the surround channels was minimal, generally used only to present a 360-degree environmental soundscape.

Supplements

• Feature Commentary With Director Iain Softley
• Alternate Ending (4:31)
• Spotlight On Location (11:41)
• Deleted Scenes (6 scenes, 7:50)
• Storyboard to Final Feature Comparison (1:33)
• The Making of K-PAX: Photographs by Jeff Bridges (13 photos, 1:41)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:30)
• Production Notes (19 frames)
• Cast and Filmmakers
• Kevin Spacey
• Jeff Bridges
• Alfre Woodard
• Mary McCormack
• Iain Softley
• Now Showing
• Apollo 13
• Family Man
• Meet Joe Black
• Notting Hill
• Patch Adams
• Big Fat Liar
• A Beautiful Mind
• Universal Showcase: The Scorpion King (1:15)
• DVD-ROM Features