Article December 3, 2001 Issue

K-PAX: planet or state of mind?

By Marilyn C. Jones

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of this magazine, requested that the editors stay "abreast of the times." With this in mind, the Sentinel offers insights on movies. This feature is not intended to present either "picks" or "pans," but is a forum for exchanging spiritual ideas about a major form of popular entertainment.

When the credits roll on the Kevin Spacey-Jeff Bridges film, K-PAX, you might wonder, "Did I miss something?" Because, despite the film's tag line—"Open your mind . . . and admit the possibility"—the provocative questions posed about the possibility of life outside our solar system never seem to find satisfactory answers.

And perhaps that's the filmmakers' point. At a deeper level, the film isn't so much about locating Spacey's character, Prot, at an extraterrestrial address, or about deciding whether he does or does not return to his planet, K-PAX. Rather, the director, Iain Softley, explores the possibilities of an alternate reality, a world so highly evolved that human laws and concepts, such as biological family relationships, are rendered obsolete. According to Prot, on K-PAX everyone contributes to the well-being and education of everyone else. The priority of biological connections gives way to a wider, more expansive love.

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