K-PAX (2001) is a mystery and/or sci-fi drama about a mental patient who claims he is an alien. During his treatment, the patient/alien, prot (“rhymes with ‘goat’ and is not capitalised”), demonstrates an outlook on life that ultimately proves inspirational for his fellow patients and especially for his psychiatrist.

The story opens with a man who calls himself ‘prot’ (Kevin Spacey) who mysteriously appears in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. When he claims he is an alien from a planet called ‘K-PAX’, prot is handed over to a New York hospital psychiatric ward. A Manhattan psychiatrist, Mark Powell (played by Jeff Bridges), is given the task of treating and “curing” prot of his supposed delusions. As the story develops, Dr. Powell becomes quite attached to prot, and starts to believe his seemingly ridiculous claims.

What I like about this movie is that it asks us to suspend disbelief long enough to believe in the world that prot describes and listen to the central message he brings through, one of listening with love and being observant of our planet and fellow man. Kevin Spacey is as enigmatic and quirky as usual and his portrayal of prot is outstanding.

The books, K-PAX, K-PAX II and K-PAX III, authored by Gene Brewer, deal with the experiences on Earth of a man named “prot”. In K-PAXian society where sex is considered unpleasant, raw veganism or fruitarianism is preferred, eating meat is never considered and there are no laws, governments, or schools (in other words – anarchy). Some readers view this as a more advanced society, or utopia, with individuals living in peace and harmony with each other without the need for law.

K-PAXians have no fixed abode and instead live a sort of nomadic life drifting between certain settlements where food, bedding, and other things are stored. The work of cleaning, infrastructure maintenance, harvesting food, etc. is performed by all K-PAXians when it needs to be done; K-PAXians do not have a set occupation. Children may or may not know their parents, but this is unimportant as they are raised by their society as a whole. K-PAXians do not develop strong interpersonal bonds but rather consider all beings with compassion.

Despite a lack of major cities, K-PAX does feature a number of large library type structures for the dissemination of knowledge; K-PAXians are far more technologically advanced than humans. K-PAXian society seems very similar to that described by Sir Thomas More in his novel Utopia.

Although fictional, the story is presented as based on real events. It is written in the first person from the point of view of prot’s psychiatrist, who shares his name with the author; the psychiatrist’s wife is Karen, the name of the author’s wife.

The movie is similar to the 1986 Argentinian film ‘Man Facing Southeast’. It also bears striking similarities to the 1995 film ‘Eyes Beyond Seeing’ in which an enigmatic mental patient played by Keith Hamilton Cobb claims to be Jesus.