The Yin and Yang in the film Serendipity 2001: a book and 5 dollars

Some call it Fate some call it Destiny.  You can even call it Luck, Providence, Synchronicity, Fortune, the Force, the Dao or Tao even Murphy's Law.  Certainly there is an immeasurable force in the Universe that binds people, places and things to each other, and plays with the outcome of events.

Know it is good that this force is immeasurable, otherwise science would have turned it into a weapon or toy, and marketing executives would be shoving it into your face to turn a quick profit. 

In the fall of 2001 the film Serendipity became the modern day calling card of this magical uncontainable phenomenon without being too flaky or too serious.  It was in that lustful Goldilocks position, palatable to all types of audiences.

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE WATCHED THE MOVIE AND HAD A BROKEN ROMANTIC HEART

   In the film Sarah attempts to test Fate when she makes Jonathan write his telephone number on a five dollar bill.  She then uses it to purchase Certs breath mints and argues that the five dollar bill with his number on it will come back to her if their love is meant to be.

Jonathan finds this situation perplexing and bizarre, but he is able to argue back that she should write her number down on something to balance the equation.  Sarah decides to write her name and number in a book entitled Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Carcia Marquez. She will later sell it to a used book store somewhere in NYC. If it so happens to fall in Jonathan's hands, then will she allow their love to blossom.  

Several years pass and they are about to get married to other persons.  But then Fate steps in, and our adventure begins.

SPOILER WARNING 

 Please see movie first to get full impact

Tassels from Mystic Surrender in Serendipity 2001

John Corbett stars as Lars Hammond who is a cosmic new age Kenny G playing the Shehnai, and he is set to go on a world tour in Scandinavia. 

Serendipity sublimely goes where very few films can go, and go successfully, whereby it has a film within a film that helps in the revelation of the storyline.  The film within a film is like the moon of a moon, it is very rare thing and hard to pull off.

In this music video within this movie Lars uses music to soothe the proverbial savage beast.  In this case his enchanting music supposedly placates the warrior bound Vikings.  Of vexillological value are the tassels upon his instrument.  Although the trumpet is the ultimate carrier of the flag, the Shehnai is a choice item of the tassel. 

And on a langrian level, whilst the actors in the main story watch the video of Mystical Enchantment, we almost go down another layer when the makers of the video references Star Wars since one of the actors in the music video looks like Alec Guiness/Obi Wan of Star Wars. 

Not quite the third level down.  But I have yet to find a movie that has a movie within a movie within a movie that effectively moves the storyline, without being a novelty or art house.  The Simpsons and several cartoons have accomplished this feat, but not while having all three stories play simultaneously and never a major motion picture.  

But if you are a director they best way to do this is to have a stage play within a movie whereby they actors in the play within the film are watching a television show.  But the inner, inner tv show or movie must be original and an effective or essential device to the story.   Somebody call Christopher Nolan.

But back to the Serendipity, Lars feels that the video is counter intutive to the song's intention, but he lets his director have his way.  Ironically it ends up producing a backlash in Sweden and Norway, and they must cancel several shows.

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.