It's not like the audience will ever see it written down or that she and Ben ever have a conversation about the unusual spelling of her name. Why bother? Why not Sara or Sarah?
If the filmmaker wanted to show us that she is special or different, then why not let us know how it's spelled?
They do have a conversation about it, when they first meet she insists that her name is spelled SERA when Ben asks about the correct spelling.
shareIt's a play on a reference to:
SERAPH : an angelic being, regarded in traditional Christian angelology as belonging to the highest order of the nine-fold celestial hierarchy, associated with light, ardor, and purity.
Remember later when Ben said "You really are an angel" ??
Thanks! I realized as soon as I posted it that I should have included that I know about it being a shortened version of Seraphina/an angel. I guess it would have been better if the audience could have seen it written down somewhere in the film, rather than them mentioning it briefly. Now it makes more sense....thanks!
shareThere is a symbolic meaning to it. Sera is short for Serafina, a female Seraph or angel. An angel's job is to help people cross over from this life to the afterlife.
Notice that every time Sera tries to convince Ben to seek help or shows him a good time, he destroys the moment. When they shop those earrings, he basically threatens to leave her. When he is having fun at the desert resort, he ruins it for them. When they have kissed at the casino, he destroys the moment by getting them thrown out. And when she has cooked him rice and asks him to go see a doctor, he goes for another prostitute and has himself thrown out of her apartment.
Because, in a sense, she is then diverging from her "job", which is to make Ben cross over. He is hellbent to die from drinking, and her trying to make him embrace life is deviating from that path. As a serafina, she is supposed to assist him to die, not do make him want to stay alive.
Wow, you're really smart (I'm not being sarcastic). What a great explanation! Are you a teacher or a film critic? That was really cool the way you analyzed it.
I did get after I wrote my original post that "Sera" was short for "Seraphina"--I must have not remembered it from the few times I watched the flick. But when I saw it after my posting it, I heard her say it and it all made sense.
I thought it was because Sera means evening (in Italian).
And this "Lady of the Evening" represents the "evening" of his life.
Hey, another layer. Obviously the angel reference is the main one, but I thought of "que sera sera" whatever will be, will be... which is the attitude he insisted on for their relationship, to let things take their course rather than trying to better and repair their lives.
share