man in sunglasses and a receding hairline (Kevin Spacey) seems to appear out of nowhere—in some sort of trick of light that is a cinematic trope used throughout this film—into the middle of New York City's Grand Central Station. Unlike the folks hurrying about him, his demeanor is contemplative and quizzical. Also unlike the oblivious bustling commuters, the man goes to the aid of a woman who has just been mugged. When the police arrive, they first suspect him of being the assailant. After they ask him to remove his sunglasses, and he responds that he'd prefer not to because the light on their planet is too bright for him—a native of K-Pax, a planet in the onstellation Lyra—they suspect him of being crazy.
Whether he is in fact crazy, or really from another world, underpins the plot. Besides his Buddha-like resolve, the man from K-Pax who calls himself "Prot" (rhymes with "goat") is not your run-of-the mill loony, even if he does eat bananas whole without peeling off the skin. For one thing, he has knowledge of cosmological configurations that could be known only by a select group of expert astronomers. Or to someone actually from a planet in the Lyra constellation.
Even though psychiatrist Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges) teeters on the brink of thinking his patient may indeed not be of this world, he becomes obsessed with discovering the trauma that caused Prot's delusional state. Prot, meanwhile, has his own therapeutic agenda: to prod Dr. Powell to "heal thyself" and reconcile his own strained family relationships and to help cure the mental anguish of psychiatric ward residents as Dr. Powell cannot.
Of course, this is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest territory. The difference is that while the Ken Kesey novel and the subsequent screenplay were satires of societal norms crazier than the inmates, K-Pax is a meditation on the power—and bedrock necessity—of familial relationships. This is essentially a two-character drama in which the success of the story—despite a few flaws and gimmicks—works because of the marvelous interplay between two skilled actors who are less interested in doing "star turns" than providing compelling characterizations.
DVD extras that aren't out of this world
For those who've already seen the theatrical release, the DVD offers the intriguing promise of the "Director's Alternate Ending." Given that the storyline is purposely ambiguous, if not deliberately misleading, about Prot's actual origins, with an ending that seems to tilt one way but with just enough leeway to lean back in the other direction, this would seem to be a major inducement to get the DVD. Unfortunately, it's a major letdown. A few scenes are extended or slightly rearranged, but the "alternate" ending has essentially the same intent.
The rest of the DVD package comprises the usual suspects. Trailers, stills, behind-the-scenes documentaries—all the standard DVD filler. Which isn't to say that the factoids presented are entirely without interest. Based on the novel of the same name by Gene Brewer (there's also a sequel called On a Beam of Light, with yet another volume purportedly in the works), it took six years before the movie went from concept to production. Spacey had seen an early script and wanted to play Prot, but was told he was being considered for another part. He told the producers he wasn't interested, but two years later was offered the role he wanted. (Fortunately, the world was spared a performance of someone like Robin Williams, who would have played Prot so "over the top" as to lose the subtle complexities of the character Spacey so well inhabits.) Similarly, it's also of mild note that, having formerly played an alien in Starman, Bridges says he was intrigued to play a character that was in the opposite situation.
Director Iain Softley points out he and the crew spent some time in psychiatric institutes to try to get the look and feel of an actual mental ward for the movie, though arguably the patients and the settings are considerably sanitized. There's one funny comment by Spacey that on these visits he met many people who claimed to be from another planet. "The difference between them and my character is they had aluminum foil attached to their ears," he observes—presumably for better reception to stuff that never makes it to the DVD.
