The Shehnai with Tassels from Serendipity 2001

 John Corbett stars in Serendipity as a musical East meets West musician playing the Shehnai, which is like an India Clarinet, or rather the Clarinet is a European Shehnai? 

Of vexillological value are the tassels that hang from his musical instrument.  Tassels can be found on the official fully decorated and fringed flag of most nations and states.  Here tassels add an artistic grace to a musical instrument.

Jon Corbett plays as Lars as an absurd over the top New Age musician.  Serendipity effectively makes fun of New Age Mysticism while also being serious and paradoxically light hearted about it.  Serendipity is serious business for some folks, yet this film pokes fun at it while gracefully weaving an enchanting story.

John is a superstar on all things considered with serendipity, but he effectively plays third chair in the star studded movie worthy of a best supporting secondary man of the best woman.

Other Flags that Accidentally Appear in Serendipity 2001

A few random flags appear in the film Serendipity 2001.  Along the NYC street side we can see the flag of Switzerland.  Coincidentally the master of Synchronicity who invented the concept was from Switzerland - Dr. Carl Jung.

The flag of England appears in this movie.  Note that the flag of England is different from the flag of the United Kingdom.  Some people overlook that England is only a sub-national component of the UK which also includes Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.






The flag of Germany just slips into the movie upon the back end of an airplane.







This first clip illustrates the phenomenon of Synchronicity in crystal clear film. 

Flags of the Background of the Best Buds in Serendipity 2001

 Molly Shannon and Jeremey Piven star as exceptional best friends to two star bound lovers in the film Serendipity 2001.

Molly stars as Eve.  Eve is a New Age charlatan from San Francisco who has given up on Destiny, in order to make profit.  Molly sees her customers as helpless chumps to obtain profit.  However her best friend Sarah has tricked her on a voyage to NYC to follow a groovy follow the signs adventure.  Eventually Eve comes back to her groovy sense of center and becomes an advocate of the mysterious path of synchronicity.   

Jeremy is the lead's wing-man, Dean, who accompanies Jonathan across the nation to see the mission through.  In the beginning Dean feels nothing and is simply a sounding board of reason, but then the challenge stirs his spirit and he becomes a changed man willing to push his comfort zone and follow Jeremy on his illogical adventure.  And resolves to chasing his own heart's Destiny.

Flags appear as background props, that just happen to fall into camera shot.  Eve's flags are hanging from various store fronts and are intended to inform the public on a sale or the on goings of the storefront.  Behind Jeremy are national banners.  The flag of Switzerland, France and two others can be seen gently flapping in the background.  

Molly and Jeremy give gracefully amazing performances worthy of an Oscar.

Floor 23 and Sign in the movie Serendipity 2001

The number 23 has a cult status, even before creation of Jim Carey's movie about it back in 2007.  In the film Serendipity 2001 it was the missed floor of two star crossed lovers. 

Where is the dividing line between superstition and serendipity?  Is the Universe a chaotic swirl of things happening, or a Romantic Opera of Destiny?

The movie Serendipity 2001 heralds that serendipity is the champion of the Universe as being a Romantic Stage of Destiny.  With stunning grace, Serendipity 2001 conveys this message without sounding like a preacher and elegantly weaves itself into the Romantic-Comedy section of the forlorn video store.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read any further if you intend to watch the movie!  

The recently met, less than 24 hrs, lovers at first charm: Jonathan and Sarah, have just experienced an unplanned night of authentic romantic charm.  However, they are already engaged in relationships with other persons.

To test the fates, that their love is meant to be, Sarah drags Jonathan into a hotel and makes him randomly pick a floor in one elevator while she does the same in another.  And only if they happen to meet on the same floor, then Sarah will be satisfied that their love is meant to be.

They pick the same floor - the 23rd floor.  But a boy dressed as a devil (oh the intentional irony) gets on with Jonathan and hits all the buttons.  Subsequently Jonathan is delayed, and just as Sarah leaves the 23rd floor, Jonathan's elevator opens on the 23rd floor. 

Funny thing about Destiny is that you can not test it.  It's like a cat that follows its own whims, uses reverse psychology to get what it wants, and can second guess, third guess, or fourth guess your sly intentions to trick it.  Thus many people who abhor the notions of Destiny or Synchronicity tend to be Rationalistas, Stone Cold Atheists, or limited to objective thinking - tending to censor all impulses from the heart.  They often believe that the core force governing life and spirits of the world is completely and utterly random. 

But one argument to counter the theory of random happenstance, that all thinkers should be familiar with, is Destiny's obnoxious cousin Murphy, who wrote that devilish statute after his own name.  Random as you may think the Cosmos is, this often annoying law is the de jure will or factor for the majority of outcomes, trivial and consequential.  One great thing about Murphy's Law is that no human law can break or undermine it.  Likewise...

In order to understand, or rather ride, the Law of Destiny, it requires that you strap your seat solidly fastened with an invisible belt of Faith.  

British Flag in the cinematic classic Serendipity - 2001

The British Flag appears in the movie Serendipity 2001 as a surreal painting.  When our heroes read the signals from the Universe and start following the Invisible Yellow Brick Road of Destiny they come across an artist who Sarah had 'sat' on.  The UK Jack appears on the shield of arms with the lion on the front.

Sarah was played by Kate Beckinsale who is from the UK.  Sarah's part was originally written for an American but the director allowed Kate to play as a British actress so her performance was unfettered by a fake accent.  Good call, because it allowed this scene to take place in this manner featuring a Cubist version of Sarah and the UK flag.

Vexilloids in the restaurant called Serendipity from the movie entitled Serendipity - 2001

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in July anyone?  It is July 25 after all.  Christmas in July is a bit sweeter and sweatier, minus the money merchandising madness.  For NYC in 2001 it really was Christmas in July, due to the filming of the movie Serendipity - captured in NYC at the end of July and August 2001.  A small part of New York City was decked out with the Christmas holiday spirit, whilst making this movie.  The snow you see in the movie is that special formula of soap and ice that Hollywood labs cooked up some time ago.

  Serendipity starring John Cusak and Kate Beckinsale actually had a scene in a real restaurant called Serendipity 3.


This film is categorized as a "Romantic-Comedy." But from a mystics-philosophers' point of view, this film is a "Documentary".


Serendipity is considered one of the hardest words to describe, and this movie illustrates its action with exquisite detail, style, humor and first class acting. 

Serendipity is a fortunate accident like the discovery of Penicillin or the invention of the Microwave.  More than that, serendipity dose not have to be an Earth shattering revelation.  It can be making a wrong turn down a street and bumping into an old friend at that new restaurant, you had no original intention of walking into.


Serendipity is getting into a car accident and then meeting a long lost friend who gets you that perfect dream job or hooks you up with a six figure income fiance.  Serendipity can be forgetting your books in the library and going back, later to pick them up and find a dollar on the way back, on your altered walking path.


Essentially it's something that seems negative at first, but happens to put you in a positive spin, such that you become grateful for that 'mistake' or moment of oops. Of vexillological note tassels can be seen hanging from the Christmas Lanterns.  Coincidentally an ad for the play Six Degrees of Separation can be seen on the subway passageway.

Everyone in this film is putting up an act since it is really summer instead of winter, at least in the beginning of the film.  But then again Christmas in July makes a lot of sense if you grew upon the Southern Hemisphere and now live in the Northern Hemisphere.

US Flags in Serendipity - 2001

 The US flag makes two major appearances in the film Serendipity 2001.  In the introduction sequence the US flag hangs off the front of a New York City department store. 

Unfortunately this film debuted in the month after September 11, 2001 in early October 2001.  Subsequently the magic of this movie was lost in the wake of national-global tragedy.


But this film has the potential to get a second rise to cult classic status.  It was the last major motion picture to feature New York City before that dreadful date. 

Likewise the theme of serendipity is a magical and mysterious call of destiny that requires a certain kind of faith.  A faith that trumps doubt and negativity.  Through the failures and faults in life, the Universe becomes a co-creator and allows all the magic tumblers to fall into place, and present a real kind of magic.