Volume CXXXIII, Number 8 November 2, 2001 f

K-Pax is an "out-of-this-world" film
MONICA GUZMAN
STAFF WRITER

Imagine you're a renowned psychiatrist. You're called in to examine a new patient. He calls himself Prot and says he's from a planet named K-PAX 1000 light years away- near the constellation Lyra. He says he's been to 64 other planets and travels faster than the speed of light. Oh, and he tells you that sex on his planet is excruciatingly painful.

Wouldn't you think he was crazy?

Well so does the fictional human race in K-PAX- a movie that explores what it means to be human from an unearthly perspective. Dr. Gene Brewer (Jeff Bridges) calls Prot (Kevin Spacey) "the most convincing delusional [he's] ever encountered." Prot can see ultra-violet light. He talks to golden retrievers. He knows stuff about the makeup of constellations that not even premiere astrophysicists can figure out. He can cure the other mental patients in a way that no doctor could ever dream of imitating. He chastises humanity for its shortcomings and praises it for its spontaneous vitality.

Dr. Brewer soon doesn't know what to believe- skepticism can only go so far before it becomes denial. We follow his quest to find Prot's true identity and save him from himself up to a subtle conclusion that answers all.

So, anyway, I soon found myself restlessly squirming in my seat, hoping and praying that Prot really was who he claimed to be. It's a natural function of us humans to dream of something unbelievable and where else but the movies can fantasy seem so real? Nowhere. Long live film.

Kevin was phenomenal in this radically different role (I know, I know; but I like pretending that I'm on a first-name basis with these guys. Can't a girl dream?) His character goes through many difficult scenes, including a violent hypnosis, which he plays effortlessly. This guy makes acting look so easy. Jeff's character is a bit more dynamic. Dr. Brewer goes from the skeptic to reluctant believer and back again- struggling all the way.

Unfortunately for our natural desire to follow fantasy through to its conclusion in movies, K-PAX starts mixing fantasy in with reality about halfway through- a nice little plot twist. Dr. Brewer finds a "logical explanation" that we dread and hate and pray isn't true. At that point both the fantastical and the logical alternatives become equally possible and I guarantee it'll bug the hell out of you. But remember the following: unpredictability, though frustrating as all hell, is far better than its counterpart.