The Man Whose Mind Exploded (2014)

The Worst Film Ever

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A Brilliant Conflict

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

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

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 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.

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.