Even if you know nothing about online gaming, the Sundance-winning documentary Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024) will move you to tears. It follows a Norwegian family who, soon after their young son Mats died in his sleep, discovered a secret life he had lived online.

Diagnosed as a toddler with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic, degenerative disorder with no cure, Mats’ muscles gradually weakened and deteriorated, like a slow, silent killer.

Director Benjamin Ree wastes no time in confronting the audience with the weight of this reality and the heartbreaking future that awaited Mats. The emotional impact is immediate, not only for Mats, but for his family, who had long prepared themselves for the inevitable.

Their deepest sorrow lies in knowing that Mats would never experience a full life, the joys of friendship, first love, and the rites of passage that define adolescence, or even just a normal human existence.

But what they discover after his passing changes everything.

For many years, Mats had lived a vibrant double life as “Ibelin,” his avatar in the massive multiplayer game World of Warcraft. Within this virtual world, Mats was a beloved member of a close-knit guild called Starlight, and he left behind a legacy that would make any parent proud.

Ree structures the documentary with a familiar mix of interviews and home videos, then shifts the perspective into a cinematic rendering of World of Warcraft, where avatars come to life like characters in an animated film. The dialogue appears exactly as it was written in logs from in-game chats and online forums. Even Mats’ narration comes from his blog entries, voiced by an actor.

It is nearly impossible not to tear up from the start as the story unfolds through the reflections of Mats’ father Robert, his mother Trude and sister Mia. As they recount Mats’ life, the film gradually introduces the friends he had made in the online world, people who knew and loved him as Ibelin.

Ree’s storytelling remains sharp and restrained. He avoids sensationalizing the family’s grief and instead focuses on the extraordinary life Mats led in digital form.

Ibelin, his long-haired, hunky avatar, works as a “private investigator” and calls himself an “emotional man.” As Ibelin races through the forests and towns of Warcraft, the film evokes a deep sense of gratitude for the existence of virtual spaces like this, places that allow people with disabilities to transcend physical limitations. In real life, Mats may have been confined by his condition, but online, he flourished. More than that, he made a meaningful impact on the lives of others.

Though the storytelling remains straightforward, Ree employs inventive tools to deepen emotional impact. He does not rely solely on interviews. Instead, he focuses the camera on his subjects’ eyes as they encounter Mats’ words and legacy for the first time. We also see his parents’ unfiltered reactions reflected on screen monitors, with Ree capturing the rawness of discovery in real time as they explore their son’s digital footprints.

We share in their sorrow, their joy, and their pride. Ree’s choice of dialogue and narration provides just enough to build a complete picture, with confidence in the audience’s intelligence and capacity for empathy. What emerges is not a story of a boy whose life was cut short by a cruel illness, but a testament to the power of human connection.

Without moralizing, the film also challenges the prevailing notion that online gaming causes harm. Excessive gameplay is not a morally or scientifically black-and-white issue. And the film opens a path for parents and guardians to reconsider assumptions. In some cases, gaming isn’t just a pastime. It’s a lifeline.

5 out of 5 stars

On Netflix