Mats Steen writes on his blog, Musings of Life, about his wheelchair, which is a necessity for a man like him. He has Duchenne syndrome, a degenerative muscular disease that requires his family to take care of him. A short, ‘unfulfilling’ life is inevitable for Steen, his family only knowing about the blog he writes. Writing one last entry on his behalf, his family discovers another side of his life, in the gaming world. He was active in World of Warcraft, a role playing game where there are less wars than expected. There, a woman breaks his heart, he breaks a woman’s heart, and opens himself up to a community.

Steen is the titular subject in this documentary, Ibelin being his avatar as he interacts with other players. The documentary interviews his family as well as those other players in Norway and other surrounding countries. An interviewee draws and talks about the fact that her being the same age as Steen helped their friendship. People have played video games for decades now but there is still a stigma and stereotypes against it. As a non-gamer, it’s a similar stigma towards the internet being a place where men can be toxic. Even through simple methods like interviews, Benjamin Ree’s The Remarkable Life of Ibelin shows that everyone belongs to the gaming community.

Aside from interviews, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin uses different animation styles, from classically hand drawn to contemporary graphics. Its version of World of Warcraft is one where someone like Steen can do things like make families reconnect. This isn’t to say, though, that the documentary whitewashes Steen, showing moments where he wasn’t a perfect angel. It does show his temporary heartbreak, it also shows him kissing a woman in front of another woman. Watching him both be played and a player is equally devastating, even if it’s showing video game characters. With this and Didi, cinema is figuring out how to capture online drama and make that drama effective. Kelsey Ellison, Zoe Croft, Paul Wild contribute their voices to flesh out that gaming world.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin‘s method of mixing aesthetics may not work for some people but I love it. Love may be a strong word but it’s great that it’s doubling down on video games’ glossy aesthetics. To people like Steen and his friends, that is as real as epistolary relationships were back then. Of course, the documentary returns to these regular interviews where one of his gaming friends points out relationship dynamics. Those friends, mostly female, platonic and romantic, say they confided in him more than the other way around. Friendships sometimes require equal exchanges, but this film shows that other times, active listeners like Steen are better.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is already out in select North American theatres and hits Netflix this Friday.