Tuesday, 10 December 2024

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024)

With its calm yet emotional narration from those who loved him, this celebration of the life of a young man who died far too early is moving and insightful. It reminds us of how valuable we all are, yet also how important finding our community is. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is the story of a severely disabled young man who found a rich life and strong community online in the world of MMORPG games. His family didn't come to learn of his reach until after his death. 

The film animates his story with a style from the World of Warcraft game he played. It is narrated by his friends and loved ones who share just how much of an impact he had in their lives despite never meeting in person. His family speaks quite eloquently of how sad they were that he would never know the simplest things in life we all take for granted such as spending time with friends and falling in love. However through the film we see he did manage to find all of that, in the world of the game. 

And like the rest of us Mats (or Ibelin) wasn't perfect and sometimes messed things up. But in the end he built a community that loved him anyway and took care of him. Sometimes it feels like such a missed opportunity that we keep so much of this hidden as Ibelin, near the end of his life, finds his online chosen family supporting him in those last days in ways he never expected. 

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin explores how much he was able to overcome and how much he wasn't, yet that he did live a life and he did matter, not just to his closest family but to an entire world. 

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Director: Benjamin Ree

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