A moving adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s great “problem plays.”

Click on the order button below to download this Movie Discussion Guide as a Microsoft Word file. You'll receive a Bible-based guide for personal use or group discussion after the movie. No additional preparation is required.

Overview

Masterfully adapted for film by Academy Award nominated director Michael Radford, The Merchant of Venice illustrates powerful Christian themes. The film highlights hypocrisy, reveals the consequences of judging by appearance, and emphasizes the difference between the law and mercy.

This discussion guide will enable you to delve deeply into these themes. Examining the film’s characters and evaluating their behavior in light of Scripture yields a complex understanding of the human condition and a deeper appreciation for the truth. In turn, this truth should lead us to examine our own motives and conduct.

Discussion Guide

    • Movie Summary

    • Discussing the Scenes

—Hypocrisy
(Exodus 22:25; Psalm 15; Matthew 23:23–28; 2 Corinthians 3:6)

—Judging by Appearance vs. Judging by the Heart
(Luke 7:36–50; 1 Samuel 16:1–12)

—The Law and Mercy
(James 2:13; Ephesians 2:3–7; Luke 6:35–36)

Based On

The Merchant of Venice (Sony Pictures Classics, 2005), directed by by Michael Radford, rated R.

Photo © Copyright Sony Pictures

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