#benjamin ree

[sannaxu]

love at first sight <3

[haverwood]

Ibelin Benjamin Ree Norway, 2024 ★★★

This kid's got everything I'd like to have: he's loved, he's missed and he's dead.

The documentary is well done, even though the wild tonal shifts in the first half had me worried. It's heart-warming, endearing and caring enough to show what's important in the end -- even though, like with most of these things, one could never really know what the persons involved really feel or experience.

I think it should be shown to people for them to learn what is like to have access to a different "life" in other spaces, like a virtual one. Empathy is rare to find and even harder to develop, but showing this -and other- stories could help.. eventually. Someone might display a little consideration towards DMD but not other diseases -- it's not a win/win scenario.

The whole thing feels like something you say to comfort someone -- it may or may not work at the time, but you're not there to break somebody's bubble or whatever. Just say something nice, let them be, and move on. "Your mileage may vary", as they say.

Speaking from my own experience, pixels and bytes will never replace skin, looks, sighs and whispers. But it's the only thing some of us have.

*edited to add some more thoughts

[rickchung]

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (dir. Benjamin Ree).

Netflix's life-affirming documentary about the secret virtual life of Mats Steen, a young Norwegian man born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, explores his online relationships living and playing in the Starlight guild of World of Warcraft as the character of "Ibelin Redmoore" before his death in 2014. It's a touching account of how anyone, including those living with a serious disability, can still maintain close relationships despite difficult obstacles and the enduring power of friendships of all kinds.

[cilicodr-art]

My top 10 films of 2020

1. Portrait de la jeune fille en feu / Portrait of a lady on fire -- Céline Sciamma

2. Never rarely sometimes always -- Eliza Hittman

3. Di jiu tianchang / So long, my son -- Xiaoshuai Wang

4. The lighthouse -- Robert Eggers

5. I'm thinking of ending things -- Charlie Kaufman

6. Les misérables -- Ladj Ly

7. The painter and the thief -- Benjamin Ree

8. Druk / Another round -- Thomas Vinterberg

9. The assistant -- Kitty Green

10. Jojo Rabbit -- Taika Waititi

[unouroborize]

The Painter and the Thief (2020) dir. Benjamin Ree

[theoutcastrogue]

In 2015, two large paintings are stolen from an Oslo gallery in broad daylight. The thief is apprehended but the artworks are still missing. Then the painter approaches the thief in the courtroom, and she politely asks him three questions:

"Why did you pick up those two paintings?" ("Because they were beautiful. I am very sorry.")

"Where did you do with the paintings?" ("I can't remember. Everything is just a big blur from that month.")

"Could we meet some time? I'd love to make a portrait of you." ("...I can do that.")

And thus begins the incredible documentary The Painter and the Thief (dir. Benjamin Ree, Norway/USA, 2020). HIGHLY recommended.

[moviemosaics]

The Painter and the Thief

directed by Benjamin Ree, 2020

[cilicodr-art]

Movie-log 

153. The painter and the thief

Benjamin Ree -- 2020 | Norway | 8.5