The Maori Merchant of Venice

This movie presents a Maori version of Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice,' which has been translated into Maori for the movie, and then the Maori has been translated back into English for the English subtitles. This takes it several steps away from Shakespeare's original text, but the story is pretty faithful to the original plot. Some of the acting appeared to be quite wooden, but that may have been a cultural thing, because I had to glean the meaning from the subtitles and body language. I found it a very enjoyable movie, and enjoyed the Maori take on Shakespeare's play. One thing that I found particularly good was the way the movie handled the rivalry between Antonio and Shylock. Antonio can often come across as an insipid loser, but this movie highlights the antagonism between him and Shylock, and makes the 'merry bond' most believable as a challenge thrown down and taken up. I would recommend this movie to anybody interested in Shakespeare, particularly 'The Merchant of Venice.'