Review: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – “A warm celebration of a life lived”

Ibelin. Mats Steen as his character, Ibelin, in Ibelin. Cr. World of Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment © 2024/Courtesy of Netflix

Mats Steen was born to parents Robert and Trude in 1989.  They were ecstatic at his arrival, loving parents that documented his early years with their camcorder.  But this happy family soon realized that Mats was developing more slowly than other children, stumbling and having difficulty getting up.  He was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition with rapid progression that causes the muscles to weaken.

As Mats grew, so did his need for assistance.  Eventually he required a wheelchair, and his parents, knowing that he was missing out on other things in his life, let him play more video games.  His sister, Mia, tried to encourage him to go outside, but increasingly Mats was drawn into the online realm of World of Warcraft, pulling him away from family and friends.

Yet, it’s easy to see how Mats thrived in this world, as opposed to the one in which he actually lived.  In the real world, it was hard to go anywhere, travelling became difficult.  He had special equipment installed in his apartment to help him live, a machine to help him breathe, tubes which fed him.  As his character, Ibelin, in World of Warcraft, he could run, jump, fight dragons, drink a beer in the town pub, share a bowl of soup with a fellow player.  But more importantly, he could make friends, away from questions about his medical condition, where he wasn’t tied to his chair.  He was free.  

His parents were concerned that Mats was living an increasingly isolated existence.  His father estimates that in his last 10 years of life, Mats spent about 20,000 hours in the gaming world.  Little did they know, that Mats was not isolated at all.  He was part of a community.  As Ibelin, he had many friends, he had crushes and romances, he had arguments, he had connection.  He had an entire life that was global in reach, even if he never left his apartment.  

When Mats did pass away at the age of 25, his parents were left with a password for his blog “Musings on Life.”  They posted about their loss.  And they were amazed at the response from the number of people that Mats had touched through his hours online.  It was only then that his parents discovered The Remarkable Life of Ibelin.  

Director Benjamin Ree (2020’s The Painter and the Thief) delves into the life of Mats in this uniquely crafted documentary.  While we get to initially know Mats as he grows through home video, as well as interviews with his parents and sister, the director creatively finds way to let us into the life of his alter-ego, Ibelin.  Rees uses a team of animators to recreate World of Warcraft scenes, crafted using character archives containing conversations shared between Mats and his online community.  The dialogue and actions of these animated characters are straight from 40,000 pages of saved data created as Mats was in this role playing world.  

It’s a pretty inventive way to tell Mats’ story, and Ibelin’s.  Mats was a dreamer.  He wanted to work, he wanted to connect with people, yet he felt these things were out of reach for him due to his physical limitations.  But not as Ibelin.  In interviews with those who knew Ibelin online, it’s clear this young man helped and influenced a lot of people.  He made a difference in their lives. Mats, whose blog also helps narrate this film, kept his two identities fairly separate, declining friends’ offers for video calls or visits.  The reality of his abilities, never came into play in these relationships.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is an interesting reflection on the virtual space the internet has created.  Instead of focusing on the dangers of the online world, something we’ve seen so many times, this film instead is open to the positive social outcomes that can be found in these realms. While Mats’ story is certainly compelling there are certainly plenty like it, those who, for a multitude of reasons, find connection in these online worlds.  I’m not sure that those watching this film will need to be convinced that relationships online can be just as valid as those in real life, for it feels like the target audience will understand this already.  But, it is nice to see Mats live life to the fullest, finding what he needs through this community and know the potential exists for others to do the same.

As documentaries go, Ibelin is well crafted, though misses the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the Steen family life.  Their home videos show him away from everyone at gatherings and events, watching on.  Whether this is a true representation of his reality or only these clips were selected to highlight Mats’ need for other connections remains to be seen.  It would have been interesting to hear more from the family about how they were managing Mats’ gaming obsession and the further impact on their own relationships.

Rees sometimes goes a little further into the animated realm than we really need, making the film meander.  Less footage of Ibelin running and more about the family might have prevented some of the lull that occurs.  That said, overall this film is a moving tribute to a young man that was not only remarkable as Ibelin, but also himself.  It’s a warm celebration of a life lived, across real and virtual worlds, unbounded and without limitation.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is available on Netflix beginning October 25th.