Long ago, the animal spirits lived in harmony. But only the fireflies had fire, and they kept it all to themselves. Cut to 1812 California, where Ta’amit (Ellie K Santiago), an Indigenous woman, is stuck in the wilderness, freezing, while a group of men huddle around the fire. In Ta’amit, they only see an animal.
Meanwhile, at a stately dinner, Don Diego de la Vega (David Zuckerman) sits down with Don Raphael Hernandez (Nathan Bexton) and learns how Spain has been dealing with its so-called “savages” like Ta’amit. They’ve been doing it with the help of American mercenaries hired to do their dirty work.
El Zorro, masked and lit by firelight, in a scene from The Spirit of Zorro.
“But before they can make their move, a masked savior called ‘El Zorro’ steps in to save the day.”
Those mercenaries turn out to be the ones hogging the fire from Ta’amit. Peter Erickson (Rob Wight), John Talbot (Mike Whittier), and Aaron Jackson (Benjamin Goodwin-Kett) see her as easy prey. But before they can make their move, a masked savior called “El Zorro” steps in to save the day.
In The Spirit of Zorro, filmmaker David Zuckerman puts his own special spin on the legend of Zorro by telling the story from an Indigenous perspective. By doing this, he creates a more grounded motivation for Zorro, rooted in the plight of Native people at the hands of Spanish and American colonizers.
Zuckerman wastes no time, dropping us right into the time period and the action from the start. He delivers efficient storytelling, with a strong command of the action’s flow, while drawing fantastic performances from his cast. Solid story overall.
"…only the fireflies had fire, and they kept it all to themselves."
