A touching, beautifully nerdy love letter to a kid who made a difference.
The immersive dive into the game world might seem corny to some, but it works. The graphics are striking, and the attention to character expression clearly took effort. But at the risk of sounding insensitive… Did Mats really log in just to be alone and mope? Or was that dramatized for narrative effect? It does work dramatically, but portraying his angst and emotional confusion within the game feels a bit indulgent and forced.
Couldn’t help but draw a parallel to the story of Avatar. A disabled person experiencing a fuller life through another powerful, able-bodied character. That film came out while Mats was still alive. Did he see it? What did he think of it?
The documentary is nicely paced and thoughtfully assembled. The narration by Mats’s father adds warmth and intimacy, and his eulogy is especially moving. Must admit, the gamers featured in the film all came across as far more socially capable and emotionally articulate in real life than I expected. Not to take anything away from Mats, but Mikkel’s side story was surprisingly compelling. Shame we couldn’t explore it more deeply.
I wonder how Mats came up with the name “Ibelin.” Only reference I could find is to a castle in the medieval Kingdom of Jerusalem.
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