Too often, video games are labeled as childish distractions, unfairly reduced to a depthless shadow, as if they were nothing more than trivial entertainment. Common perception inseparably links them to deep-rooted prejudices that see them as feeders of aggressiveness or promoters of alienation. However, this view is short-sighted: virtual worlds hold much deeper potential. Imagination, strategy, narrative and, for those who delve into them, an opportunity to reflect, learn and grow.
In his new documentary The extraordinary life of IbelinBenjamin Ree transports us to a moving story, capable of moving the Sundance audience and ready to reach the hearts of an even wider audience on Netflix. Born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Mats Steen lived his entire life with a rare genetic condition that ripped him away from his loved ones at just twenty-five years old.
A few days after the tenth anniversary of his death, it is surprising to discover that what his parents believed had been denied him (a youth with friends, adolescence and its rituals, summer walks, laughter on the playground) in reality It belonged to him, but in a different, playful and virtual way. Because Mats was also Ibelin, the mischievous and mustachioed blonde who moved with strength and grace through the lands of world of warcraft living epic adventures, forming sincere friendships and finding their place in the world. A double existence, that of Mats and Ibelin, that defies any border between the real and the virtual and that tells (without pietism but with a lot of empathy) how deep, tangible and authentic the lives we live can be, whatever the form. and dimension in which they develop.
The first part of the documentary essentially focuses on Mats’ existential journey through the vibrant and vulnerable testimonies of his family members, a narrative interwoven with images of everyday life that sets the stage for a much deeper story. Then, everything changes tone and appearance and bursts into a different reality, landing in an exciting reconstruction of Mats Steen’s digital life within the universe of world of warcraft. The director skillfully harmonizes animations in-game and interviews with his friends and, through this narrative fabric, a moving fresco emerges of an existence full of passions and bonds, in which Ibelin is the absolute protagonist who has found a loving and sincere community within a guild of Warcraft known as Starlight.
The avatar of an entire existence within world of warcraft
Courtesy
The words that resonate in the documentary were extracted, with scrupulous fidelity, from the authentic conversations that Ibelin and his virtual adventure companions exchanged during their sessions of gaming. These dialogues, housed in a vast 42,000-page online archive of everything Max did and said online through his character, not only reveal the plot of his interactions but also reveal the complex emotions that animate the characters. different characters, following the tradition of online role-playing games. The recordings of these interactions thus give form and substance to the animated sequences of the film, which visually reverberate and weave words, speeches, loves, friendships, confrontations, jealousies and adventures, as well as the moments in which the players confront creatures fantastic, complete exciting missions and forge bonds with other players from all corners of the planet.
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