I found myself trying hard not to cry a river while watching The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. That’s a rare thing, given I mostly tend to remain in a composed state where I don’t let emotions get the better of me when I am watching something for work. But this Netflix documentary, focusing on the alternative life of a wheelchair-bound man in the gaming world, was something else. It is made in such a unique way that it is bound to move you, unless you are a rock. Let us take a closer look.
What Happens in the Documentary?
Mats Steen was born with Duchenne, a rare incurable muscular disease that doesn’t let your muscles develop and leaves you considerably weak as you grow up. As a child, Mats could walk, but eventually he ended up in a wheelchair. His parents—Robert and Trudy—and sister Mia were always concerned about him, understandably. As Mats couldn’t live a normal life, he started finding refuge in the world of video games. Over the years, he started spending more and more time gaming, and his interaction with his family lessened gradually. After graduating, Mats moved out—only to the second floor of his parents’ house, though—but he was so happy to have the independence. He designed the whole space as per his desire and hung up a laminated painting of a man and woman. Life went on, and Mats became even more detached from his parents and family, although he did attend family events. With time, his muscles weakened, and he started having other difficulties. At the age of twenty-five, Mats finally lost his battle with life.
Devastated and heartbroken, Robert and Trudy didn’t know how to process it. But they thought it was important to let some people in the gaming community know that Mats had died. Mats did give them his password so that they could log to his accounts. He had a blog, ‘Musings of Life,’ where he started sharing about his life some time before. His parents posted the news of Mats’ death there only. What they didn’t expect was many people to respond and tell them how Mats, aka ‘Ibelin,’ changed their lives. Messages kept pouring in, and Mats’ parents and sister couldn’t believe it. He may have been in a wheelchair, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a life after all.
Who was Ibelin?
The documentary is rightfully named after Mats’ avatar, Ibelin, in the fictional world of ‘World of Warcraft,’ where he did have a life that was nothing short of remarkable. Ibelin became part of a community called ‘Starlight,’ which changed his life. In the world of Azeroth, he was a detective. One day, in the Elwynn forest, a young woman, Rumour, started flirting with Ibelin. Initially he didn’t know what to do, but then he responded, and soon they became inseparable. Mats became friends with Rumour in real life as well, where she was known as Lisette—a young girl of his age. He developed a crush on her, and from what she said in the documentary, it is quite evident that she felt the same as well.
Sadly, every time she wanted any sort of communication beyond texting, Mats refused. That was disappointing for her, but it didn’t affect what they had. Until one day, when Rumour disappeared from the game and Mats was unable to contact Liz. Shortly after, Liz contacted him to let him know that her computer was taken away by her parents as it was affecting her studies. Little did she imagine that Mats would write an email to her parents, requesting them to give the computer back as it was affecting Liz’s mental health. Liz came back to the game and sent Mats a painting of Rumour and Ibelin—the same one that he put up.
Rumour was not the only one Ibelin had a connection with though; over time, he befriended many people and affected everyone’s life in a genuinely positive manner. He helped a mother, Xenia, form a connection with her autistic son, Milkkel, by bringing him into the game. Kristian, a sad, lonely man, also got to be friends with Ibelin, and so did Rikke. Everything was happening in the virtual world, but the connections were all real.
What happened to Ibelin?
In Azeroth (that’s what the fictional world of ‘World of Warcraft’ called), Mats could be Ibelin—an able, handsome man who is kind and loved by everyone. But outside of it, he was bound by a wheelchair, stuck inside his room. As the Starlight community became more tightly knit over the years, they started meeting in real life as well. Mats was always invited, of course, but he had no way to go. So he kept replying in the negative, which disappointed everyone, especially Liz. What they didn’t know was that Mats couldn’t do what they could, despite wanting to. Kai Simone, aka ‘Nomine,’ who was the leader of the Starlight community, even offered to meet Mats to check if he was doing alright. Mats refused that as well. The gamer community respected his privacy, but Ibelin also started drifting away in Azeroth as well. Liz was heartbroken to see Ibelin flirting with other women, which Mats did out of desperation. He knew death was coming his way, and his life as Ibelin was coming to an end. Finally, he poured his heart out to Xena when she pushed him. Then he did the same to Liz, who was obviously surprised and heartbroken. But that mended the relationship between Ibelin and Rumour in the world of Azeroth.
Mats started publishing his blog a while before his death, where he shared his whole life—from his childhood to how it was in Azeroth. Not only did the Starlight community show him support, they hailed him as the best of them. Death was inevitable for Mats, and once that happened, Ibelin vanished from Azeroth. But his remarkable life is still celebrated by the Starlight community. Every year, they gather in the virtual world once to honor Ibelin. Mats Steen might be dead, but Ibelin lives forever.
Final Thoughts
Firstly, props to director Benjamin Ree for making the creative choice of using proper Warcraft animation to tell Ibelin’s story. I am usually not fond of unnecessary dramatization, a common trait of many documentaries, but here it only enhances the viewing experience, and you almost feel like a part of Ibelin’s story.
As far as Mats goes, no words can suffice for the kind of amazing thing he managed to achieve in his short span of life. It is inspiring, to say the least. But more importantly, this documentary is a testament that relationships and friendships that are made on the internet are as valuable as real ones. In fact, they are the same as the ones you make outside of the internet. There is, of course, a stigma against people forming communities on the digital media, and this documentary clearly opposes that. Getting a bit personal, most of the people I care about at this point in life are people I have met on the internet. Quite naturally, I found a relatability factor here, which was wonderful.
Of course, Mats Steen’s life was infinitely more difficult than yours and mine. But what should matter is what he did with whatever life he had. His story needed to be told, and I was glad to see the director doing a fantastic job at it. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin stands out as a documentary. Going beyond the usual documentary format, it achieves a lot more. I am sure Mats Steen would be proud of it, whatever he is.
P.S. I checked ‘Musings of Life’ after finishing the documentary, which further made me teary eyed.
