Why Christians should watch 'The Mask of Zorro'

Published in the 21 November edition of Christian Renewal magazine.

First created in a 1919 serialized story, Zorro has been wildly successful character, inspiring innumerable books and comic books, nearly a dozen television shows, over forty films, and even popular and classical music. Named the Spanish word for fox in honor of his cunning, Zorro is a hero of the people who stands up for justice and protects the innocent when seemingly no one else can. Most often set in a corrupt and ruthless portion of the Spain-controlled areas of Mexico or California, Zorro customarily appears at a story’s most dire moments – wearing an all-black costume with a flowing cape, wide-brimmed hat, and thin mask while armed usually with only a sword and a bullwhip – and inevitably saves the day.

Some literary scholars believe Zorro to be inspired by the title character of the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. Zorro in turn served as an inspiration for such popular characters as Batman, The Phantom, and many other regular-men-turned-heroes who rely on their mental and physical skills rather than any super powers.

‘The Mask of Zorro’ is an action film released in 1998 about the legendary vigilante hero. It stars both Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas as older and younger versions of Zorro. The latter is the first Spanish-speaking actor to portray Zorro in a major film.

Set in California at the transition from Spanish to Mexican rule, the film begins with a memorable depiction of Zorro in action and what he means to the people for whom he fights. The evil governor, Don Rafael Montero, decides to execute a batch of innocent peasants. Just as the firing squad is preparing to shoot, Zorro intervenes. With the help of the cheering crowd, he thwarts the executions in grandiose fashion and then returns home to his wife and newborn daughter.

However, Montero discovers Zorro’s real identity: Don Diego de la Vega (Hopkins), whom Montero thought to be his ally. In retaliation, Montero kills de la Vega’s wife, kidnaps his daughter, and has him sent to prison, where he remains for twenty years. During that time, Zorro has not shown his face, and consequently the people are increasingly oppressed. They mourn the loss of their hero and yearn for him to return and restore justice to their society.

Finally de la Vega escapes with plans to kill Montero in revenge, only to find that Montero has raised de la Vega’s daughter as his own – an act of ultimate revenge on his former nemesis.

Although de la Vega is too old and broken by his imprisonment to return as Zorro, he recruits a bitter, drunken, and impetuous young thief, Alejandro Murrieta (Banderas), to take his place. The older Zorro begins to train the younger, and in more than just acrobatics and swordsmanship: he teaches the rough young Murrieta how to be a gentleman as well, including posture, speech, and dancing. In a memorable scene, the de la Vega gives his mask Murrieta, symbolizing that he has completed his training, and the younger Zorro becomes the hero for which the people have been waiting.

Posing as a nobleman recently arrived from Spain, Murrieta slowly earns Montero’s trust. In the process, he learns of the many ways in which Montero has been taking advantage of the peasants; in particular, he has been using them as slave laborers at a gold mine that he is using to finance his schemes. Dressed for the first time as Zorro, Murrieta breaks into Montero’s house and steals a map to the gold mine, fighting off dozens of soldiers in the process. As word of this daring raid reaches the people, their hope is restored for the first time in many years: perhaps Zorro will return and all will be made right.

Using the map he stole from Montero, Zorro head for the gold mine with hopes of freeing the people and ending Montero’s reign of terror. If you want to know the rest of the story, you will have to watch the film.

Like all action movies, ‘The Mask of Zorro’ is at moments more about choreographed fighting, explosions, and an upbeat soundtrack than it is about plot. Nonetheless, certain themes make its story resonate with any viewer – for example, the people’s yearning for their hero.

To the citizens of Montero’s California, Zorro was their only hope for justice and protection. Their rulers were corrupt and conniving; they saw them as something sub-human and sought only to take advantage of them. The very ones who had a duty to serve and protect them became their oppressors. Zorro, however, was a man of honor and integrity. He treated even the meanest of people as something worth fighting for and sought to protect them from every injustice.

After Zorro disappeared, the rulers again had their way with the people, and the people’s hopes slowly died. Every time some injustice or oppression occurred, they remembered the days when their hero would intervene and they wished to see his return – if Zorro were here, all would be made right.

Why Christians should watch 'The Mask of Zorro'

Many people in our own day wish some hero could swoop into their lives and make everything right. Everyone would agree that this world is frequently cruel and unjust, and far too often throughout history, those in authority have abused their power in one form or another. Whether or not they realize it, Christians and non-Christians alike make at least some effort to explain the harsh realities of this life, with each explanation varying in terms of its complexity and consistency.

Some explanations offer hope through the exercise of the collective will of the people – by acting together, we can overcome the difficulties of this life and have peace and happiness. Others say that success comes by exercising the individual will – by discovering myself and being myself, I can overcome the difficulties of this life. Still others assert that there are no such things as peace and happiness – we just have to accept that what is, is, and that is simply the end of it.

The problem with these explanations and others like them is that they simply do not work. People have tried to achieve peace and happiness through the collective will and the individual will and by many other means, but the outcome has always been the same.

Further, such explanations do not really address the yearning to see things made right that is common to every human being. We might each have a very different idea of what is right, but there can be no question that we all yearn for it, and this belief most visibly affects our thoughts and actions on a daily basis. But where does that universal belief in right, which is so strong that some even sacrifice their lives for it, come from?

Only Christians can fully understand this yearning, for only Christians know the whole story: that man was created in the image of God with certain duties to perform on the earth. But man rebelled against God, he ceased performing the duties that he had been given, and the divine image was marred by this sin. This story is the origin of the cursedness of our world, and this explanation is only found in Christianity.

Further, only Christians can offer a solution to the problem. How interesting it is that heroes appeal so broadly! Everyone has a hero, and it can be a disastrous thing when people see their heroes fall. But Christians can offer a hero who will never fail: Jesus, the ‘Savior of all people’ (1 Tim 4.10).

Like Zorro, Jesus came a first time offering a taste of the peace and justice to come. As we witness injustice of every kind as we yearn for his return, it is easy to lose hope and ask,

How long, O LORD?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
And have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (Ps 13.1-2, ESV)

But unlike the citizens of California, who could only hope that Zorro might someday return, we have assurance that our hero will return in a full display of his power. He has already demonstrated that power by rising from the dead, thus providing the ‘first fruits’ as evidence that he will do what he has promised.

Watching ‘The Mask of Zorro’ should turn Christians’ eyes toward their true hero, remind them of his promises, and fill them with joy that he is even more honorable and capable than Antonio Banderas in a black mask.

Further, this film should turn their eyes toward their neighbor, knowing that he is as desolate and oppressed as the peasants for whom Zorro fights. Who else can address their needs – both spiritual and physical – but us, and how else can they know about our real-life, non-fictional, death-conquering hero unless we tell them?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
Light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
Lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
Because he has dealt bountifully with me. (Ps 13.3-6, ESV)