According to the New Zealand Film Commission, the film deals with the themes of "religious discrimination, revenge for past wrongs", and "explores the nature of justice and mercy" as well as "the effect of heritage on an individual’s life decisions and the strength, wit and wisdom of women": "The Maori take on Shakespeare's 'pound of flesh' drama is a story of deep seated social and religious prejudice, in which the Jew (Shylock) has a long memory of oppression, but revenge is not so sweet."[8] Valerie Wayne, in The Contemporary Pacific, underlined the apparent parallel drawn by the film between the oppression suffered by Shylock because of his Judaism and the sometimes violent subjugation of Māori by the colonial authorities in nineteenth century New Zealand.[9]
Reviewing The Maori Merchant of Venice for Te Kete Ipurangi,[10] Lana Simmons-Donaldson described it as "an educational, even motivational tool" for Māori language learners, and provided glowing praise:
No sex, action or violence here, Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Wēniti makes a refreshing change to the usual menu on offer to the movie going public. Chivalry, camaraderie, romance, justice, honour, cruelty, aristocracy and poverty all in te reo Māori, it's very palatable even exquisite depending on your taste. [...] Rurutao (Shakespeare) himself would have wept at its poetic brilliance.[11]
The Merchant of Venice is not the only Shakespearian play to have been adapted to Māori themes, though it is the only one to have been released as a feature film. Adaptations of Othello, using a Māori cast and usually set during either the Musket Wars or New Zealand Wars of the nineteenth century, have been performed on numerous occasions since the late 1990s,[12] most notably at Christchurch's Court Theatre in 2001.[13][dead link]
