Netflix users urged to watch emotional documentary about man who had secret life discovered by parents after death
The story of Mats Steen left Netflix viewers in tears
A new Netflix documentary has dropped, and viewers can’t get enough of it.
The doc follows the story of a man who received a second chance at life.
Viewers were left glued to their TVs while watching grieving parents of a 25-year-old man with a degenerative muscular disease, as they find out he had lived a secret life online.
With a 98 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the doc has been making waves online and reducing viewers to tearful messes with its incredible real story.
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Norwegian World of Warcraft enthusiast Mats Steen, sadly passed away in 2014 because of his rare genetic disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition which causes rapid muscle weakness.
Because of his condition, he became severely restricted as he grew older, which saw him need to use a specialised wheelchair.
Through his family’s grief, they discovered that he had been living another life thanks to computer games, which saw him have a fulfilling life online.
The doc premiered on Netflix on 26 October, titled The Remarkable Life of Ibelin.
It shows how Mats' parents Robert and Trude Steen and his sister Mia discovered how he had been roleplaying on the immersive game, which allows characters to go on quests with groups of others and interact with players from all over the world.
It came after the Steens posted an update on Mats' personal blog to announce that he had passed away.
They were then shocked to receive so many emails in response to the news from people who'd developed a relationship to Mats online, often referring to him by his online alias Ibelin Redmoore.
Through Ibelin, Mats lived as a muscular nobleman and monster-slayer with many friends and even virtual dates.
"You proved us wrong. You proved us so wrong," Robert Steen said in the trailer, after learning about his son’s secret life.
Speaking about it in an interview with The Independent before the documentary dropped, Robert had actually revealed how the family had discouraged Mats from spending too much time playing on the internet.
"We thought he lived, for many reasons, a wasted life," Robert shared. "And then we get these stories sharing just the opposite.
"We strongly believed that he was lonely, that he had no meaning for other people."
He added: "We did all the right things, and we were so present in our children's lives. With one exception - and that is the digital part of their lives."
The documentary has left viewers in tears. One viewer shared online: “One of the best things you’ll see all year. The kind of film that instantly makes you want to scream about it from the rooftops. A life-affirming piece of art that makes you glad to share this world with the people you love.”
Another wrote: “‘I have not cried so much watching a film for a very long time.
Someone else penned: “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is one of the most gorgeous things ever. Everyone should watch it. *Please* watch it.”
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is available on Netflix on now.
Britt Jones