valerie adams movie review

Intimate, emotional, memorable—More Than Gold is more than a sports film

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold tells the journey of the four-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist, one of Aotearoa’s most successful and celebrated athletes. More than a sports film, More Than Gold is also something of a collaboration between director and subject to lament on the isolation of greatness, writes James Nokise.

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

When Dame Valerie Adams won her first shot put competition at high school, she didn’t have any sports shoes to wear. Watching the joy with which she recounts her teacher taking her to buy a pair of size 13 men’s shoes (the only ones big enough to fit her) is one of the many memorable moments from Transition Films new documentary Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold .

The film takes us through her entire life, from early childhood up to retirement, showing the journey from an awkward, tall, shy girl in Mangere to the most dominant Shot Putter of the modern era.

Director Briar March ( A Place to Call Home , Mothers of the Revolution ) and editor Margot Francis ( Yellow is Forbidden , Savage Honeymoon ) use archival footage, interviews, and animation to weave together a story of mothers, family, endurance, and sacrifice.

Ostensibly the film follows Adams as she prepares to compete at her fifth and final Olympics games in Tokyo 2021. The access that Adams and her family have given is strikingly intimate.

To say this is just a sports film is like saying Lord of the Rings is just a fantasy film. More Than Gold is a record of a woman who may just be New Zealand’s greatest athlete, but also something of a collaboration between director and subject to lament on the isolation of greatness.

“No All Black ever gets criticised for going on tour and leaving his kids behind,” says Valerie in response to comments on an article announcing her impending trip to Tokyo.

The choice to spend so much focus on her family becomes clearer as we see how her complicated childhood and her adult relationships feed her motivation to not just compete but evolve and succeed.

No film of a Tongan legend would be complete without a “Ma’ate Ma Tonga” (Die for Tonga!) moment of bravery, but in a lovely twist, it comes from her small, redheaded fellow high school outcast and best friend, Erica.

Aril Liberman’s cross-cultural score does a fantastic job of shifting gears from intimate moments into Rocky -worthy physical outbursts.

The way in which the scene where Valerie holds her mother, Lilika, in her last moments as she dies in hospital transitions to her Olympic training may be, if this isn’t too cynical, one of the best emotional beats in any film this year.

What stays with me are the gasps of awe from a group of young Pacific men in the audience, when Adams hits the weight room. In what could be viewed as a Kiwi slang version of a five-star review, one of the men simply lets out a long, low, “Brooooo”. It is an entirely accurate response. The power on display in those intense sessions that create her necessary explosive power is incredible.

For all of Dame Val’s playful public persona, it can be easy to forget the effort a world-class athlete has to put in to achieve their goals. The physio sessions and counselling from her coach to tone down her grinding routine only emphasises the many injuries.

Her will may be indomitable, but this is a body of a veteran competitor who has competed in international competition for over 20 years.

“I’ve got the spine of a 65-year-old” she quips while talking about the wear and tear from her career.

And there is no sugar coating with illness or injuries. The straight-talking that has endeared her to fans all over the world is on full display as she frankly recounts the tribulations of her and her family. To go into details about them here, without the context of the film, would be to do her openness a disservice. Though sometimes heartbreaking, they only serve the incredible endurance her and her family have.

“This is greatness. This is what it takes,” says her husband, Gabriel.

In the history of modern Track and Field, only ten athletes have won championships at youth, junior, and senior levels. Usain Bolt is one. Dame Valerie Adams is another. More Than Gold certainly is not a film that glorifies being an elite athlete. If anything it simply, and sincerely, shows the human cost such a career requires. For a sports-mad nation such as New Zealand, it should be required viewing.

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The Spinoff

Pop Culture October 20, 2022

Review: valerie adams’ more than gold is more than a sports film.

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The intimate new documentary about the four-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist is a lament on the isolation of greatness, writes James Nokise.

This review was first published on Flicks .

When Dame Valerie Adams won her first shot put competition at high school, she didn’t have any sports shoes to wear. Watching the joy with which she recounts her teacher taking her to buy a pair of size 13 men’s shoes – the only ones big enough to fit her – is one of the many memorable moments from Transition Films’ new documentary Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold.

The film takes us through her entire life, from early childhood up to retirement, showing the journey from an awkward, tall, shy girl in Mangere to the most dominant shot-putter of the modern era.

Director Briar March (A Place to Call Home, Mothers of the Revolution) and editor Margot Francis (Yellow is Forbidden, Savage Honeymoon) use archival footage, interviews, and animation to weave together a story of mothers, family, endurance, and sacrifice.

Ostensibly the film follows Adams as she prepares to compete at her fifth and final Olympics games in Tokyo 2021. The access that Adams and her family have given is strikingly intimate. More Than Gold is a record of a woman who may just be New Zealand’s greatest athlete, but also something of a collaboration between director and subject to lament on the isolation of greatness.

“No All Black ever gets criticised for going on tour and leaving his kids behind,” Dame Valerie says in response to comments on an article announcing her impending trip to Tokyo. The choice to spend so much focus on her family becomes clearer as we see how her complicated childhood and her adult relationships feed her motivation to not just compete but evolve and succeed.

No film of a Tongan legend would be complete without a “Ma’ate Ma Tonga” (Die for Tonga!) moment of bravery, but in a lovely twist, it comes from her small, redheaded fellow high school outcast and best friend, Erica.

Aril Liberman’s cross-cultural score does a fantastic job of shifting gears from intimate moments into Rocky-worthy physical outbursts. The way in which the scene where Valerie holds her mother, Lilika, in her last moments as she dies in hospital transitions to her Olympic training may be, if this isn’t too cynical, one of the best emotional beats in any film this year.

Another thing that stayed with me is the gasps of awe from a group of young Pacific men in the audience when Adams hit the weight room. In what could be viewed as a Kiwi slang version of a five-star review, one of the men simply let out a long, low, “Brooooo”. It was an entirely accurate response. The power on display in those intense sessions is incredible.

For all of Dame Valerie’s playful public persona, it can be easy to forget the effort a world-class athlete has to put in to achieve their goals. The physio sessions and counselling from her coach to tone down her grinding routine only emphasises the many injuries. Her will may be indomitable, but this is a body of a veteran competitor who has competed in international competition for over 20 years.

“I’ve got the spine of a 65-year-old,” Dame Valerie quips while talking about the wear and tear from her career.

And there is no sugar coating the illness and injuries. The straight-talking that has endeared her to fans all over the world is on full display as she frankly recounts the tribulations of her and her family. To go into details about them here, without the context of the film, would be to do her openness a disservice. Though sometimes heartbreaking, they only serve the incredible endurance her and her family have.

“This is greatness. This is what it takes,” says her husband, Gabriel.

In the history of modern track and field, only ten athletes have won championships at youth, junior and senior levels. Usain Bolt is one. Dame Valerie Adams is another.

More Than Gold certainly is not a film that glorifies being an elite athlete. If anything it simply, and sincerely, shows the human cost such a career requires. For our sports-mad nation, it should be required viewing.

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Movie review: Olympian's success is more than gold

Olympic shot put champion Dame Valerie Adams is the subject of a new documentary, More than Gold. Photo / supplied

Dame Valerie Adams – More Than Gold (90 min) Screening in cinemas now Directed by Briar March

The promotional material for Dame Valerie Adams – More Than Gold says it's a story of a mother, a Tongan leader, a daughter, a sister and a survivor that "will resonate with ordinary New Zealanders in an extraordinarily human way". It certainly does that and in the process, subtly makes it clear that Dame Valerie is a national hero.

Shot-putter Dame Valerie won many medals, finishing with an Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021. Previously, she'd won gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and after Nadzeya Astapchuk was disqualified for doping, she won gold in London in 2012. Deprived of the top podium place, Dame Valerie showed a hero's humility.

In her role as AIA's vitality ambassador, Dame Valerie says for her, being healthy is not about winning.

"It's about having the energy I need to live the life I want, with the people I love." That's a reference to Dame Valerie's children, to her husband Gabriel Price, to her mother-in-law who helped care for the children when Dame Valerie was away for two long stints, training in Christchurch preparing for Tokyo and then for four months in Tokyo.

There were many hurdles to overcome: Dame Valerie's grit and her determination to get fit are phenomenal. There were things that could have broken her: the death of her beloved mother and being thrown out on the street by her stepfather, both happening at only 16, her disastrous first marriage, her parting of the ways with coach and parent substitute Kirsten Hillier, her difficult path through IVF.

And there were the constants: her drive to succeed, her Christian faith, her trust in herself, the belief others had in her, including her family, her physiotherapist Louise "Louloubelle" Johnson and her coaches, particularly Dale Stevenson and Jean-Pierre Eggers, for whom she drove herself to drop significant weight. He wouldn't take her on otherwise. And then there's her desire to give back: her Paralympian younger sister Lisa, coached by Dame Valerie, won gold in Tokyo in 2021.

Dame Valerie's first pair of shoes came from her sports teacher at high school. Later, support came from sponsors, including AIA, Toyota and Visa.

Without labouring the point, the film makes it clear that without that support, she wouldn't have been able to compete, her greatness would never have been recognised.

Erica Farrelly gets suitable recognition in the film too, for being Dame Valerie's friend at primary school, punching those bullies, despite being a shrimp beside her.

Briar March (The Coffin Club, 2017) and producer Leanne Pooley (The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, 2009) had firm hands on the wheel. The selection of footage and cinematography is brilliant. Arli Leberman's music is both unobtrusive and outstanding, quite an achievement, as is Dylan Coburn's storyboard artistry. This wonderful film needs to be seen by everyone who needs inspiration.

Movies are rated: Avoid, Recommended, Highly recommended and Must see

The first person to bring an image or hardcopy of this review to Starlight Cinema Taupō qualifies for a free ticket to 'Dame Valerie Adams - More Than Gold'.

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Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey. Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey. Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey.

• Briar March
• Valerie Adams
• 2 Critic reviews

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews

• October 12, 2022 (New Zealand)
• New Zealand
• Dame Valerie Adams: More Then Gold
• 瓦莱丽·亚当斯：金牌之上
• New Zealand (location)
• Eight The Story Department
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• NZ$1,900,000 (estimated)
• Runtime 1 hour 30 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Saturday, 15 October 2022

Dame valerie adams: more than gold: movie review.

Cast: Valerie Adams

Director: Briar March

There's a fascinating paradigm at play in Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold, the latest documentary from Briar March.

Whilst it's a peek behind the scenes of what inspires a high-performance athlete, there's also a maddening view that being a woman in both sport and society is something that's largely untenable for those wanting to pursue their dreams.

As Adams opines at one point, "No All Black ever gets criticised for going on tour and leaving his kids behind" - it's a subtly damning indictment of the double standards placed on women in society and yet it's also a moment in March's exploration of shotput gold medalist Adams that cries out for some kind of national rejoinder.

By exploring Adams' past and build up to her final ever Olympic Games in Tokyo, March paints a compellingly sensitive portrait of the South Auckland athlete who literally stood head and shoulders above her schoolmates, and who didn't even have shoes for her first competition.

With animations and Adams' own recollections and reflections on key moments of her past, what emerges is a story that's testament to the age old adage that it takes a village to raise a child - and also an incredible testament to Adams' own strengths and commitment.

Whether it's training endlessly, exploring the loss of a father figure in her life, carefully dealing with the heartbreak of the death of her mother or exploring the separation guilt Adams feels in the pursuit of her goals, March weaves together a film that subtly calls for change in the isolation of being a sporting great, while celebrating the athlete within.

There's heart in this, and while the outcome of Adams' quest may be known to most New Zealanders, the journey is definitely worth the exploration.

While there are a few moments where it falters (an exploration of domestic violence encountered by Adams, the aforementioned contrast in how women are treated), Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold is a film that ultimately inspires in no small part due to its honesty and the integrity of its subject.

It may not hit the heights of some documentaries, but for a film about a sporting icon whose journey has been less than conventional, Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold is a film that's worthy of a watch.

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Dame valerie adams: more than gold.

Directed by Briar March

Winning was just part of the journey

Olympic Champion, Kiwi Icon, Tongan Leader, Orphan, Mother...winning was just part of the journey.

Dame Valerie Adams

Director Director

Briar March

Producer Producer

Leanne Pooley

Writer Writer

Editor editor.

Margot Francis

Cinematography Cinematography

Mark Lapwood

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Fiona Copland Katie Millington

Composer Composer

Arli Liberman

Sound Sound

Eight Productions

Australia New Zealand

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Tonga (Tonga Islands)

Drama Documentary

Releases by Date

20 oct 2022, 01 apr 2023, releases by country, new zealand.

• Theatrical M

90 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by CharmingPotato ★★★½

What a legend. Open-hearted and honest, Dame Valerie Adams is a wonderful subject, and the timing of this - filmed in part during her comeback for the Tokyo Olympics - drives home her sheer determination. Aside from the dodgy animation (why must documentarians do this?), it's very well made, with excellent contributions from her whanau. The rare doc I wish was even longer.

Review by LiamMaguren ★★★★

Easily one of the best NZ sport biopic docos I’ve seen. A near-perfect combo of turbulent life story events, eye-widening athletic feats, and filmmaking suave, nailed down by a subject with enviable screen presence. Doesn’t reinvent the ball, but sure knows how to chuck it.

Review by Lewis Bostock ★★★½

Anybody who can throw a shot put and win an Olympic medal after two kids and a twisted bowel gains automatic legendary status.

Review by Samuel ★★★★½

An incredible (and richly ‘Aotearoa’) doc befitting of an absolute legend.

Review by Chris Pule ★★★★

Deep Dive into Dame Valarie Adams illustrious career! Proud 🇹🇴 Tongan Proud Mangere Hard!! 

Her Ordeal after the Rio Games OMG. Whole new Respek for Valerie. Nice of her to invite us to her Village. What a Strong Village that is for her too.

The Visuals were a bit Sus! Overall gr8 doco from Eight. Hopefully more install maybe Lisa Carrington.

Review by henrycooke ★★★★

Learnt lots!

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In The Home Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

Woven around observational scenes of Dame Valerie’s journey to Tokyo, is her astonishing backstory . Over the course of 25 years Valerie has conquered adversity time and time again. Six foot three at 12-competed barefoot at her first shotput competition because she couldn’t afford shoes. At just 15 she nursed her dying mother while watching the Sydney 2000 Olympics on TV…the moment that inspired her Olympic dream. Many New Zealanders believe they know Dame Valerie Adams, but in a ‘sports’ documentary like no other she shares her story with honesty and vulnerability exposing herself in a way few sportspeople dare.   More Than Gold speaks to anyone who has faced hardship, lost someone they loved, or held onto a dream. It is both funny and gut-wrenching as Dame Valerie shows us what it means to be a world-class competitor and a person for whom winning means more than gold.

In New Zealand cinemas October 20.

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