The movie “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” is very emotional and I chose to refrain from watching it because I knew It would be too much for me. Despite being an emotional coward, I can still appreciate this piece of art. So, despite my dismissal, my friends insisted that I take a proper look at it. Now, being a father to three boys, I understand how heartbreaking the theme of this story is and how it concerns someone taken too far at a young age. I was yet again devastated. However, one piece that is inaccurate is how this complicated masterpiece touches on pain and discomfort. The main themes are enabling people, understanding them, and knowing how everyone can have a positive impact. Chances are, you’ll shed tears, but that is the least of your concerns. It is very well worth crying.
Mats Steen was born in 1989, and even before he turned a few years old, both his parents realized there was something off about his growth. He was diagnosed with a horrible disease that goes by the name of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It would later lead to his death at the age of 25. The first thirty minutes of “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” puts in absolute brute detail about how everything seemed from the perspective of his parents and younger sister and paints a terrifying picture of how even home videos make his deteriorating state quite apparent. It’s a family tale of the tragedy that unfolds after family trips and family gatherings. But that’s just the first act of this movie.
When he died, Mats’ parents found out that he may have spent over 20000 hours in a game called “World of Warcraft” in which he made an avatar called Ibelin. Ree, the director of the document, goes on to say that it’s an understatement to say that Mats had a virtual life and rich online experience. Mats’ online life now has been analyzed based on the years of sobbing text messages that the game kept stored online. This not only gives an insight as to what was important to Mat but also how he impacted different people in his life. He made friends, had a crush, supported self-improvement in others, and was the best version of himself. One thing that Ree the director does excellently is illustrate how screen time can be a pointless activity. Rather, modern culture constantly makes fun of screen time. But the thing that shapes people is how this definitely can change them for the better.
The interviews Ibelin’s friends participated in that Ree filmed I considered the best portions of the film. It is interesting how they describe the impact he had on their lives and tells us everything he did while online. Recall the time he sent a letter to the girl he had a crush on whose parents had taken the computer away, or when he single-handedly repaired a broken bond between a mother and a child. Mats was, in essence, not just playing a game. Mats was enjoying life. He had a superb understanding of what cultivates life. Unlike others, he possessed a genuine degree of sympathy and openness which all of us seem to have a deficit of in this world.
Ree follows the Stevensons’ phenomenological approach. So, having access to Steen’s personal accounts, his blog entries, and transcripts from his online interactions makes it possible to use video snippets from ‘World of Warcraft’ throughout the film. And it is such a brilliant touch, he allows us to see the world through his eyes. “There, my chains are shattered.” Indeed, we are so much more than the body that houses us, and this quote emphasizes the extent to which technology has redefined what it means to be a human. Mats Steen was not someone different in a digitally contrived world. He was an actual kind, empathetic, a gigantic person. And typically, he was not just kind, Mats was so much more. And expectingly, Ree does not simply narrate to us who Mats was, he portrays him engraved from the same periscope through which Steen viewed most of his life.
“Thank you for making a difference,” one of his friends said during his eulogy. Isn’t that what we all want to hear about us someday? More often than not, we do tend to underestimate the differences we make in this world, particularly during troubling times such as dealing with depression or the burdening struggle of everyday life that makes you question your self-worth. Do you remember when for no reason at all, you made a random kind gesture that changed the course of someone’s life you can barely call to mind? Or perhaps after someone looked back at something you said during their tough times? Whenever we hear the phrase “being there for other people”, we think of only huge moments, but it is equally needed in our minor day-to-day interactions by treating others with respect and kindness and showing empathy. That’s what I take away from the story of Mats Steen: it isn’t merely about how young men die, but how we all should live our lives.
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