K-Pax was a sweet movie. I had seen bits and pieces of hit on television before but never got that roped into it, but when we watched it in class I was hooked. Throughout the entire film I was trying to figure out whether or not he was a crazy smart but also just plain crazy guy, or if he was in fact an alien. I don’t know if it is really debated but my take on it is that he is from K-Pax, and he used that guy’s body as a means to being on Earth. The scene when the water freaked out Prot was especially powerful. Up until then Prot was completely peaceful, didn’t hurt a fly, however the memory of the sprinkler when his family was murdered triggered something inside of him that made him go bezerk. Now he still was not violent, he was trying to protect the little girl, however he reacted in such a harsh way that it scarred the family mightily.
Another powerful element of the film was Prot’s ability to help people in the ward. The film portrayed it as though everyone that society deems as ‘crazy,’ has a very real and very fixable issue going on. The most prevalent example is with inmate Howie, who Prot gave three tests. Each test Howie took very seriously, and he thought they were to get him off of planet Earth when in fact they were to help him grow out of his problem. It painted a positive picture of the clinically insane; society often paints them as crazy people who are dangerous to society, and often are viewed as sub-human. However Prot is able to reach them, he is able to get onto their level and help them with their problems. His approach is not as a superior helping an inferior, which is how I think most people view that kind of relationship, but since he is an inmate just like them they are willing to take what he says seriously, and the fact that they think he is an alien doesn’t hurt either!
Overall it was easily my favorite film of the semester, a very entertaining movie, in English, and color! So what’s not to like?
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