The movie starts off with an old homeless guy chilling in the subway. He looks over towards the entrance of the subway, examining the people passing by, when suddenly out of nowhere appears a man in sunglasses (pictured above). Suddenly a thief snatches an old lady's purse and gets away. The man in the sunglasses goes to help the old lady up, but when the police arrive, they think that he is the thief. After witnesses clear him of any guilt, the police begin to question him. He claims that his name is Prot (pronounced like pr-oat)and that he is a visitor from another planet who traveled on a beam of light to earth for a vacation. He is instantly deemed to be insane and is sent to a psychiatric hospital that tries to get to the bottom of his story.
As time goes on, however, the patients in the hospital and even some of the doctors begin to believe his tale, as his knowledge, wisdom, and in some cases his physiology appear abnormal. This does not discourage his psychiatrist, who makes it his primary goal to determine the truth. Is Prot really an alien? Or is there a darker, hidden truth behind the inner workings of this stranger?
I just watched this movie recently, and there is really no other way to describe it other than a mindfuck. The ending is strange and a bit obscure, but I could not help but feel like this movie was really enjoyable. Those of you who have seen it probably know what I mean, and those who have not should try to see it.
Hm, I should have actually posted my opinion on this.
I really really liked it. It was ambiguous all through the movie whether Prot was for real or not, and the ending left things just as unclear. It was quite beautiful. And Kevin Spacey is generally great.
Slight spoiler warning, if you have not seen the movie, or do not want the story in later parts to be spoiled, do not read on.
in the months since I created this thread, i have since learned that this movie is based off of the first book in a series, and that in the sequels (this is where the spoilers come in, so if you don't want me to ruin parts of the overall story, just don't read on), Prot returns, and ends up "leaving" the human guy. i forget his name. was it John or something? anyways, he "leaves" him behind, which is what ammounts to essentially curing him of his strange mental disease, allowing him to live his life normally, but then he later returns randomly for no apparent reason, so the story sort of retains the ambiguity even when you're certain of one way or another. have not read the books personally, but i sort of looked at a "back of the book" summary of them. i am curious about the entire series and how it plays out now.
