To Toronto Area Folks What Like Gamings and the Movies

[thebitterguy]

Just a note that there are two more screenings of The Dungeon Masters at TIFF this week at the new AMC theatre. One is today at 3:15, the other is tomorrow at 9:00 pm.

Making a documentary on pop culture has many dangers, from nostalgia to smugness and condescension. The Dungeon Masters is a rare example of a film that avoids all of these pitfalls and portrays characters rich in complexity. It follows three Dungeons and Dragons gamers living in unglamorous corners of lower-middle-class America. Over the course of one year, we see how their real-life aspirations are fuelled by the worlds of their imaginations. Scott, whose self-deprecating humour has not translated into success as a budding novelist, struggles to support his wife and son. Elizabeth, an attractive twenty-three-year-old who dresses as a dark elf, seeks companionship after a failed marriage. Richard, who has a penchant for killing make-believe characters, aspires to reconnect with the real stepson he abandoned. Even if you find it hard to identify with the role-playing fantasy lives of these individuals, it's easy to empathize with their human selves.

Thankfully, it appears not to do for D&D fans what Trekkies did for Trekkies.

Comments

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Bloody hell! What about the gamers who actually went on to become successes at something? Just from the description, it seems this film is biased towards portraying gamers as losers. Feh!

[bandersnitch.livejournal.com]

I imagine that this will just show that gamers are just like anyone else with a hobby.

It doesn't sound like it is suggesting gamers will never accomplish anything. This looks only at one year of their lives.

[bandersnitch.livejournal.com]

This does sound like a great concept for a film. Dungeons and Dragons can be portrayed as just any hobby that ties together the story of these three normal people.

I'd love to see it.