''The Man Whose Mind Exploded'' is a 2013

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Toby Amies. The film depicts the strange relationship between Amies and

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

eccentric Drako Oho Zarharzar.

Synopsis

Drako Oho Zarharzar can remember modeling for

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

and hanging out with The Stones. But he can't remember yesterday. Following a severe head injury Drako has serious

brain damage Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage. A common ...

and terrible memory loss. He can access memories from before his accident, but can't imprint new ones. As he puts it, "the recording machine in my head doesn't work". As an antidote to depression he chose to live "completely in the now" according to the bizarre mottoes delivered to him whilst in his second coma. A tiny flat completely filled with a collage of memories, reminders and erotic art, Drako's house acts as a metaphor for his extraordinary mind. Filmed over four years, the director starts off making a film exploring Drako's lurid and exotic back story including work with Dalí, he Factory Les

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

, and

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

. But he is forced to stay in Drako's neverending now and soon a line is crossed, and the documentary maker becomes caretaker.

Production

''The Man Whose Mind Exploded'' started life as a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programme described by

Miranda Sawyer Miranda Caroline Sawyer (born 7 January 1967) is an English author, journalist and broadcaster. Education and early life Sawyer was born in Bristol and grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire with her brother Toby, who is an actor. Sawyer was educated ...

in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' as "the best documentary of 2008". The reception to it was so positive that the director was encouraged to turn it into a film. The film was produced by Rob Alexander, Kat Mansoor, and Toby Amies. Executive producers were Daisy Asquith and Dunstan Bruce while the editing was done by Jim Scott. The film music was composed by Adam Peters, who made his debut as a solo movie score composer on '' Savages'' (2012) directed by

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

Release

''The Man Whose Mind Exploded'' premiered at the Sheffield Doc/Fest and was pitched in the 2008 MeetMarket. It was also shown at the

Cork Film Festival Cork International Film Festival (CIFF), also known the Cork Film Festival (), is a film festival held annually in Cork City, Ireland. It was established in 1956 as part of An Tóstal, and is Ireland's oldest and largest film festival. It is typ ...

, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Cambridge Film Festival,

's Cinecity Festival, and was an official selection at the East End Film Festival.

Reception

''The Man Whose Mind Exploded'' gained 4 star reviews from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', '' Time Out'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' in the UK.

References

Miranda Sawyer, ''The Man Whose Mind Exploded'', BBC Radio 4

4-star review, The Guardian4-star review, ''The Times''4-star review ''Time Out'' (Magazine)Sheffield Doc/FestRevelation International Film Festival

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Whose Mind Exploded, The (film) Documentary films about mental health Documentary films about people with disabilities 2013 films 2013 documentary films British documentary films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films English-language documentary films