The Man Whose Mind Exploded

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.

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.

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

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.

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.