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Day 256 of 365 of
my year long challengeWeek 37: Video Game: The Movie
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Produced by video game company Valve Corporation,
Free to Play follows three
Defence of the Ancients (DotA) players on their way to The International 2011. Touted as the richest game tournament at the time, the team who wins will receive $1million as the esports community takes its first full step towards legitimacy and respectability.
Benedict "Hyhy" Lim from Singapore, Danil "Dendi" Ishutin from Ukraine and Clinton "Fear" Loomis from the U.S. are the three professional gamers
Free to Play follows and what's most intriguing and frustrating about the documentary is that they all share a nearly identical story. At the very core of it, these men and teenagers are left unsupported by their families simply because parents don't understand. They each sacrifice so much to play professionally and it isn't until success is achieved that anyone can understand or accept what they do.
It almost feels cynical because of that but the film sidesteps this and comes across as an emotional underdog story. While this is almost true, each of our three stories is rife with tragedy and heartbreak, it's just too hard to connect with them. They don't present well on screen and the critics of each of the players are, sadly, all too reasonable to dismiss. And as much as Valve is obviously hoping to parallel their stories and successes to that of their own fortunes and the rise of esports, it just doesn't work. You either accept that gaming is and can be a legitimate career and sport or you don't. As the generations change, attitudes will almost certainly shift but for the time being there really isn't too much grey.
That said, it is interesting to not the film contrasts esports in the west with esports in the east to great effect. It's almost hilarious how it's treated throughout Asia but it gives me hope. There is entertainment, challenge and fortune to be fond in the fledgeling sports but we're far from that in the west.
Where
Free to Play really missteps in just how much prerequisite knowledge audiences need to understand the intricacies of the film. For someone with no knowledge of the game,
Free to Play leaves you out to dry with little more than the briefest of explanations in the opening moments. From there, you're on your won and even my passing knowledge isn't enough to understand all that happens in the game or in the community. More explanation would have been nice but it's safe to say this is for the players.
Free to Play is one of those films that delves into a world that really is trying for legitimacy and recognition but it stops short of giving us anything compelling to invest in. Hyhy, Dendi and Fear are far from the charismatic leads the film needed but they share and live the underdog dream all kids dream of. There's nothing her to enlighten the somewhat familiar and not enough to educate the unfamiliar. That doesn't matter though because, at the end of the day, parents just don't get it.
