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The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin Review
Image Credit: Netflix
Loading...Directed by: Benjamin Ree
Featuring:
Mats Steen
Robert Steen
Trude Steen
Mia Steen
Lisette Roovers
Kai Simon Fredricksen
Mikkel Riknagel Nielsen
Xenia-Anni Nielsen
Tor Bjorn Torp
Kristian Froberg Hansen
Jenna Rissanen
Leif Jacobsson
Anne Hamill
Running Time: 103 minutes
Not Rated
I tend to get a bit testy when people argue that digital relationships are less “real” than in-person ones. I’ve tallied countless friendships and more with people across the internet, many of which remain as strong as my so-called “real life” ones to this day. And yet, it’s impossible not to run into the arguments that those virtual relationships are ephemeral, often with the argument that “you never really know who those people are.”
I’m well-versed in the counterarguments at this point, but if I wanted to shut down that line of thinking I could also just show them The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin. Benjamin Ree’s heartstring-pulling documentary, which premieres Friday on Netflix, puts a human face on the value of internet connection through the story of Mats Steen, who didn’t let his disability stop him from having a very real impact on the lives of his online friends.
Ibelin tells the story of Mats, a young Norwegian man born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Due to his muscle deterioration, there wasn’t a lot that he could do in the real world. So instead, he immersed himself in gaming, notably in that most omnipresent of MMORPGs: World of Warcraft. Ree’s documentary starts by documenting Mats’ life as his family – his father Robert, mother Trude, and sister Mia – knew it, which was his constant playing of games and their sorrow that he would never make friends, know love, or make a difference in people’s lives.
That concern, as far as they knew, tragically came to pass when Mats died in 2014 at the age of 25. It wasn’t until after his passing, when they posted the news on his blog, that they learned how wrong they were. The three began to get countless emails from people talking at length about their friendships with Mats, all through WoW where he played as a character named Ibelin. Through these stories, Mats’ family began to get a greater understanding of exactly how full their son and brother’s life was, in ways that they previously couldn’t believe.
Ree’s previous documentary, The Painter and the Thief, deftly explored the unexpected connection between an artist and a man who stole her work. As such, it’s not surprising to say that his approach to these oft-maligned online connections is equally adept. Ree takes the massive online archive from Mats’ roleplay guild and uses it for in-game animated sequences (voiced by actors) to show us how some of Mats’ closest connections were formed.
Those sequences, combined with interviews of the people behind the other characters, detail Mats’ life hidden away in Blizzard servers but just as real and important to those he met and interacted with. That includes Lisette (aka Rumour), his first crush who lived in the Netherlands, and Xenia-Anni (Reike) from Denmark, who had problems connecting with her autistic son Mikkel until Mats suggested she use their shared love of gaming to make those connections within the game.
Ree’s approach is a deeply humanizing one, using the in-game conversations along with readings from Mats’ blog and the interviews to create a picture of the life he was able to live despite his condition. Refreshingly, it isn’t a hagiographic depiction either; we learn about how Mats’ fervent wish for privacy about his condition led to friction in his guild and some choices that weren’t exactly positive. Rather than cast a bad light on Mats though, these stories help present a complete picture of a young man who understandably struggled with his emotions around his fate and – like all of us would – didn’t always handle it in the best way.
Those moments are few though, and through the recounting of Ibelin/Mats’ life it’s obvious that this isn’t reflective of who he was. Ree finds the power of his film in presenting us with the touching tales of how Mats was able to form real and powerful connections with his guildmates and friends, even when he couldn’t make it to a real-life meetup in Denmark and wouldn’t join voice chats because he didn’t want people to pity him.
The lesson here is that, while we all hear stories about catfishing and the like – which, to be fair, is a real thing to be cautious of – the power of the internet and online gaming lies not in those who shout slurs over Call of Duty matches or creating fake online profiles to be a monster. You don’t need Twitter, Reddit, or Facebook to be a racist or misrepresent who you are. The real power is in allowing us to be our true selves in a place that transcends the limitations of physical space. The very real emotions and physical tears that Mats’ story draw out prove that better than anything.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin releases on October 25th on Netflix.
