The Man Whose Mind Exploded (2012) User Reviews

Well worth a watch

[the_lane · 8/10 · 7 August 2014]

The man who's mind exploded is a perfect insight in to life behind the scenes of a well know Brighton eccentric suffering mental illness. The film doesn't follow a narrative often enforced by such documentaries and as such we get a real insight into the daily repetition of Drako's life and the frustrations his family have to deal with trying to look after him whilst allowing him to retain his dignity.

My only criticism would be that it would have been better to use a wider angle lens for some of the shots inside the flat.

And please....this is an independent film. Don't stream it from youtube or torrent sites. Due to the number of penis's in the film, I doubt it will get a TV showing!! This is my favorite, he's dressed for dinner!

Moving, often funny doc, with some important life lessons.

[runamokprods · 8/10 · 4 November 2014]

A singular documentary, Filmmaker Tobey Amies befriended a truly odd and unique person and decided to make a film about him; an ailing, obese man in his 70s who has dubbed himself Drako Oho Zarhazar. Drako is a colorful character who once was a handsome dancer, a sexy motorcycle kid who knew Salvador Dali, and drank and glowered and ran on the dark side. Now, heavy and bald, covered in tattoos, he wears a Dali-esque wax mustache along with tons of playful make up; a flamboyantly gay man surrounded by photos everywhere of young men with giant erections, a hoarder, and most importantly a man who has survived two serious accidents, both of which left him in a coma.

Since those incidents he suffers from anterograde amnesia, leaving him with little short to mid term memory. He tells the same stories over and over. He forgets who people are, including our story-teller, he can be heartbreaking, stubborn, and embarrassing in his weird exhibitionism. And yet, as sad a character as he is, there is also something unique and joyful. Deprived of a past, he lives in the moment, each face, each exchange, each experience something new. He can get confused or depressed but in the end his attitude is one of loving each moment. He repeats a mantra over and over again. He has it tattooed into his arm: "Trust. Absolute. Unconditional". He may be impossible to 'save' or even to help much, but maybe in different ways ways so are the rest of us.

To love and be accepting and kind is a lesson he gave to those who knew him. And - thanks to this rough hewn film - to us. That's not a bad legacy.

Fascinating biography of a unique figure

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 24 July 2015]

THE MAN WHOSE MIND EXPLODED is a documentary that explores the life and times of Drako Oho Zaraharzar, a unique figure who spent his final years living in a tiny flat in Brighton. Zaraharzar is a truly larger than life figure: bald, covered in tattoos and with a Dali moustache, his flat is littered with homosexual pornography and his life is filled with bizarre recollections involving the rich and famous.

The story is interesting insofar as Zaraharzar suffers from retrograde amnesia after being in comas for many years following various road accidents. He's like a real-life version of the guy Guy Pearce played in MEMENTO, in that his old memories are complete while he struggles to form any new ones, so each time he meets the film-maker it's a brand new experience for him.

And we go from there. As with all the best documentaries, this is a study of the human condition, full of all the tragedy and triumph, the laughs and the tears, that go with it. It's a must see for anybody interested in psychology. I just wish all of the explicit homosexual content had been blurred out and certain scenes hadn't been filmed, because they'll put off a lot of potential viewers who are missing out on what is otherwise a warm-hearted and tear-jerking viewing experience.

Funny and extremely touching independent documentary

[dom_pillai · 10/10 · 18 July 2014]

I loved this film, it is an extremely touching and funny piece of work.

I related strongly with the relationship between Drako and the filmmaker Toby Amies.

I am also a filmmaker that works closely with adults with a variety of disabilities, including people with short term memory loss due to a coma, same as Drako.

It would have been easy for someone to make an exploitative film with this subject matter, but here it is certainly not the case.

Toby Amies has made a genuinely humane, affectionate and original piece of work.

A film as good as this deserves a larger cinematic release.

This film changed my life.

[jordandavidsmiles · 10/10 · 25 July 2016]

Was battling depression at the time i came across this film by Toby Aimes. I decided to watch it purely because of the title and cover photo, i didn't even read the description.

I knew INSTANTLY that this would be an amazing film....the first minute or so showed me the artsy side of this film and I was immediately hooked.

Drako, whom this film is about, had an outlook that was so genuine it helped me find ways to rid myself of this ugly depressed state i had been in for the three years prior...

Everything Drako said, did and wore (clothing) made me realize that my depression was unnecessary and irrelevant to my life.

Since having watched this film, i have reopened my eyes to the world, stepped completely out of my comfort zones, regained friendships, and am no longer battling any depressed thoughts and feelings. I owe a great thank you to Toby for seeing something in this man that was so great he felt inspired to create a film about him.

I absolutely recommend this to anyone with an open mind. Close minded people might not understand the values this film has to offer.

A Brave and Beautiful Film

[MirandaLittle · 10/10 · 16 December 2014]

From its opening shot on Brighton's nudist beach where the filmmaker and his subject bare all from the very start, this is a brave and beautiful film. On a human level, we can all learn a lot from Drako's pure, living in the moment visions and ideologies. As filmmakers we should all respect what has been achieved here. This film has a small budget but a huge, beating heart.

It feels like something iconic has been created here - visually the incredible, paper mind explosions in Drako's apartment create their own legends. The fact that they are often very sexually explicit reminders, offered the director the opportunity to create some real humour in creating subtle juxtapositions of the darker issues of Drako's existence and the lighter pornographic imagery surrounding him, quietly swaying around the ceiling above him.

In terms of the film's lead character. Drako's exotic connections to Dali and Derek Jarman bestow him with a quiet legendary status and glimpses of his former existence add a deep level of humanity. That the film has chosen to deal with what Drako has become not what he was is what makes it a truly of the moment documentary.

You will fall in love with Drako. This film has given him the chance to be himself without judging him, and I am really glad his life has been captured on camera like this, nipples and all.

Incredible film, once won't be enough

[debbiejclare · 10/10 · 16 July 2014]

I can't recommend it highly enough. From the arresting opening scene to the very end there's not a moment where you're not utterly captivated. It deals with mental health issues in a sensitive yet funny way, and shines a light on sexual desire in a way I haven't seen before on film. Be prepared for lots of cocks and nipples, presented in the funniest yet moving way. Wonderful shots of Brighton, great interviews with friends, family and neighbours, and as always, exceptional direction from the legend that is Toby Amies. "Trust. Absolute. Unconditional." Pick this film, see something incredibly real. Watching it just the once probably won't be enough.

Trust Absolute Unconditional

[harry-hall · 10/10 · 26 March 2016]

Director TOBY AMIES has created a fascinating portrait of a survivor. But not the predictable, poor-poor-me survivor that one would encounter in most documentaries.

"THE MAN WHOSE MIND EXPLODED" does not dwell in the past, nor does it wallow in a parade of sordid sob stories and tragedies. DRAKO, the seventy five year old eccentric subject of the film is not a victim. He is a vibrant individual who lives in the now. By his own rules. Wildly. Colorfully. Unabashedly. With no guilt or shame (or short term memory, for that matter).

Having lived through the 60's as a jazz ballet dancer and one time model for Salvador Dali, he was a performance artist BEFORE there were performance artists. Heavily tattooed, pierced and with a Dali-esque waxed mustache, he is a a kind of S&M version of Quentin Crisp.

Although experiencing 2 suicide attempts, a number of brain injuries, a few near death experiences and a series of nervous breakdowns---too many to count, he remains positive, and firmly in the present. Living life as Art --- with the world as his Theater.

The Director doesn't handle him with kid gloves, but as an equal. And that is why this film is so magical and REAL. A bold portrait of a man whose mind exploded, but his personality and outlook on life remained strangely intact . . . positive . . . looking to the future!

To quote the tattoo on his wrist: "TRUST ABSOLUTE UNCONDITIONAL"

The kind of film that might deserve repeat viewings.

[alanbutlerart · 10/10 · 17 June 2020]

This film could almost be a fiction dreamed up by Borges or Italo Calvino. The subject, Drako Oho Zarharzar, suffers from memory loss and lives entirely through a world of literal and fantastical imagery. The performance artist, and one-time model for Salvador Dali, cocoons himself in a tiny English council flat, navigating his daily rituals through a physical constellation of printed photographs that hang from the ceiling by dirty bits of string. The hanging images function to remind him of his past and who he might be in the present. Although, how much of the visual debris actually relates to his own life is highly suspect. Regardless, Drako's constructed reality is tangible to himself and provides him with a platform on which to stand. The documentary records a warm, developing relationship between Drako and filmmaker Toby Amies, as Drako struggles to remember yesterday, or who the man pointing the camera is. Amies's job as film-maker is often superseded by a de facto role of carer, and sometimes cleaner. In this way, the documentary is very much participatory, and the relationship being mediated by an image production technology seems fitting for a man who fantasises regularly about his past as a performer, model, and as someone who literally paints his facial hair in the morning. This film is funny, entertaining, sensitive and intelligent. I'm not sure if this would be better to show students of film and photography, or for those studying philosophies like Object Oriented Ontology. It is an entirely fascinating encounter with this individual's way of living, who readers of Timothy Morton might recognise as being viscous, nonlocal, and temporally undulating. If you are disturbed by moving images depicting photographs of male genitalia, this might not be the film for you. However, I would highly recommend this as a birthday or seasonal gift for that ageing relative who loves human interest stories, and has a passion for gay pornography, light BDSM, and bespoke knitwear.

When a spotlight shines on a truly worthy star it can really light up the world.

[tobelievewithoutseeing · 10/10 · 23 March 2016]

This documentary brings you into the life of Drako Oho Zarhazar and brings Drako directly into your heart. Sometimes in life you find characters that change your perspective and inspire pure love and faith, this is one such character and this film is just a snippet of his full and free life. Filmed over 4 years in and around his home, this documentary allows the viewer into Drako's most personal space and gives them a very real and very raw look at some of his most personal and trying medical conditions, one of which is a type of amnesia that doesn't allow him to record new memories. Watching this film one can't help but to truly care for Drako, laughing with him when he laughs and feeling the fear and frustration that his family and friends feel when he does what he has always done and just disappears only to return with no memory of where he's been. Drako leaves us with a message that may become your mantra, "Trust. Absolute. Unconditional." "Life has it's own validity, but you must make an effort."

A film about the complexities of love

[newsnjdw · 9/10 · 18 May 2018]

Sometimes in life you are introduced to an individual who once seen, leaves a wonderful, lasting impression on you by the sheer complexity of their character and personality. Drako is one such character. He is the opposite of what most people would aspire to be and yet we are fascinated to view him rambling through his life constantly repeating and recording his thoughts and limited memories. Most times oblivious to all around him. Through his dedication and compassion for Drako, Toby Amies has created a loving visual memoir of a man like no other. I believe that in time and with wider exposure this documentary will come to be revered as a milestone in documenting mental health issues and the complexities of love

One of those docs I always recommend

[sannehoch · 10/10 · 30 December 2022]

I remember seeing this film years ago and it has stayed with me ever since.

It is quirky, funny, sad and thought provoking. It is raw but filled with charm. It is a point of view type of documentary which makes it feel very intimate.

One of my favourite docs to this day and one that I always recommend people should watch as it one of those stories where you really get to see a life and a perspective on life far from your own.

I love the explicit content as that was his way of life and this feels like a true insight to the life he lived and the man he was.

So if you are not afraid of a bit of male nudity make sure you watch this ;)

A stunning exploration of a disintegrated mind

[jonathancash-62158 · 10/10 · 12 April 2021]

Toby Amies has created a film about one of Brighton's greatest eccentrics. The subject, Drako, was well-known in the city and could be seen around, talking to people, wearing his extravagant outfits and unintentionally drawing attention to himself. I spoke to him not more than a couple of times and had no idea about his life, though I had heard snippets and rumours. The director Toby treats his subject with sympathy and tried to understand him whereas, in other hands, the amazing Drako could have been treated as an outcast or laughing stock. A remarkable film about a disintegrated mind, made with sensitivity and compassion. Highly recommended.