Starting from an analysis of the recent film The Matrix, and emphasizing its millenarian and messianic components, the article goes on to consider the importance of millenarian and messianic movements in the Old World (especially Spain and Portugal) and the New world (especially Mexico, Peru and Brazil) in the 16th century, noting Tommaso Campanella's expectation of an imminent world monarchy. The conclusion is that these movements offered a privileged space for different religions to interact and to mix.