Jonah Lomu passed away when I was at university. I remember vividly where I was when I heard the news. I, along with many other Aucklanders, headed to Eden Park for his public memorial service, such was his cultural impact. Jonah loomed large in the lives of New Zealanders just as he did on the world stage. More than merely documenting the life of a cultural icon, Lomu delves deep into the complicated life of one of global sports' most enigmatic figures. One of the best films of the year. 

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Bursting onto the international stage as a teenage prodigy, Jonah’s unprecedented combination of size, speed and power shattered every expectation of what a winger could be. At just 19, he became the youngest All Black in history and a powerful symbol of possibility for Pasifika communities across Aotearoa and the wider Pacific. Beneath the physical dominance, however, was a shy, deeply respectful young man shaped by Tongan values, strict Christian faith, and the complexities of growing up first-generation in South Auckland.

Through intimate interviews with family and coaches, alongside archival footage of Jonah himself - including never-before-seen family video - the film reveals the personal cost of meteoric success.

Through my professional career as a youth worker, I’ve known quite a few Jonah Lomu’s. Perhaps not the one in a million athlete like the real deal but young, Pacifica men thrown into the cultural cauldron of New Zealand. While Aotearoa is a Pacific country, it couldn’t be further from the religious and cultural landscape and expectation of our Pacifica whanau. 

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And this is what the documentary captures brilliantly so that we, as an audience, can truly begin to understand the man behind the myth - the soft spokenness, the hidden health battle.

 

Even though he may not articulate the depths of struggle on camera, we, the audience, begin to see the world and his actions through this established worldview. It is both punch the air heights of success and triumph and the barely whispered health and financial struggles. It will bring you to tears. Lomu, the man and the documentary, is truly magnificent. 

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More than merely documenting the life of a cultural icon, Lomu delves deep into the complicated life of one of global sports' most enigmatic figures. One of the best films of the year.