I have seen "K-Pax" before and I am still not sure whether I view Prot as clinically insane or an alien from outer-space. I realize this sounds ridiculous (call me crazy) but let me explain.
First, Prot appears in the train station out of nowhere. The light beams in the opening scene seem to make way for his arrival. And, what do you know, Prot says he travels by light beams. Second, Prot has an unmatched knowledge of the constellations. It seems unlikely to me that he would know the exact trajectories of stars and revolutions of suns that most scientists do not know unless he was from there. Finally, the fact that the camera watching him on the day of his departure goes static seems to signify that something supernatural took place. He left behind his glasses because he wouldn't need them and Bess is missing. He left behind his "energy-efficient" human body because he did not need it anymore. I think that one could make a case for Prot using the probably already catatonic body of his friend Porter because it was energy efficient and leaving him behind again once he went back to K-Pax.
On the other hand, there are a lot of similarities between the human Porter and the "alien" Prot that keep me from deciding Prot's identity. First, the fact that their names are so similar makes me think he just switched his name up to make it sound more foreign. Second, Porter worked at a meat-packing plant. Prot eats only fruit. Perhaps he sticks to produce so that he is not constantly reminded of his past. His aversion to water also seems to give him away as human. He gave no explanation as to why K-Paxians would be upset about the sprinkler. But when Mark goes to Porter's house and sees the sprinkler he understands why Porter is upset about the water--he used it to wash the blood of his hands of his dead family. Finally, the fact that Prot does not leave in the human body he uses makes him seem as though he is only human. I find it strange, though, that he suddenly becomes catatonic on the 5th anniversary of his family's death.
While I lean more toward the Prot being human argument, I think we should always leave room for people to be something other than who they appear to be. Something that I heard in church once was that people often say that if God would appear to them in person and show them he was real, then they would be able to believe in him. My pastor said that was most unlikely--people would probably call that person crazy and institutionalize him. Also, it happened before in the form of Jesus Christ--people did not and do not believe he is actually God in human form. With that thought in mind, I like to leave a little room for Prot being part of an alien planet from K-Pax. At the very least, I would like to think that perhaps Prot, though crazy, is "touched" with some special ability that allows him to dole out bits of wisdom about family issues and see things (though his eyes are hidden by sunglasses) that other people cannot see.
One of the themes that stuck out the most to me was our theme of mysterium and tremendum. This is especially evident in the scene where Prot meets with the scientists and reveals his knowledge of space. The scientists are both amazed and almost frightened at this common man's knowledge. Mark's friend thought that he was playing a joke on him at first. Prot's knowledge was too eerie for not being a scientist.
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