Really Surprised!

Beautiful, moving film.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

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.

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.

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!