The Tank Française watch is back in the limelight – a worthy heir to the timeless Tank watch and French style. And in keeping with the debonair style of the watch, Cartier’s latest campaign film starring Catherine Deneuve and Rami Malek, and directed by Guy Ritchie is dedicated to the re-launch of the Tank Française watch
An expression of a certain avant-garde, the Tank Française is linked to Paris, its freedom and creativity, whose cultural geography was so well captured by New Wave cinema. More than 25 years after its creation, this watch is back in the limelight, remaining faithful to its iconic design whose lines Cartier has radicalised: proof it knows how to evolve with the times without ever losing its elegance – somewhere between great classicism and modern allure.
As such, it required a film to do it justice: an exquisite and cultured tribute to the passing of time, punctuated with cinematographic references against the backdrop of the Parisian sky. To direct, Cartier commissioned British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, who is best known for his ensemble cast films, creative editing and unparalleled sense of pace.
Paris takes centre stage, supported by an international cast of strong personalities: Rami Malek, one of the most singular actors of his generation; and Catherine Deneuve, the French legend of cinema and style.
It’s a story of chance and the often-funny tricks that fate plays on you, as well as the karmic links that seem to exist between certain people. Rami Malek is on one side, while Catherine Deneuve is on the other. They playfully meet as they cross the Pont Alexandre III, during different eras, creating a moment of complicity. Deneuve can be seen in her leading roles in Jacques Demy’s ‘Parapluies de Cherbourg’, Régis Wargnier’s ‘Indochine’, and Nicole Garcia’s ‘Place Vendôme’, while Malek is shown as a multi-talented artist.
Two characters, two continents and two generations all linked by the same love of cinema and French culture. This film is an expression of Cartier’s vision of watchmaking and the timelessness of its creations. It’s a journey through time, where past and present merge, in the image of the Tank Française, a true icon of the past and present. It also represents the meeting between French style, symbolised by the Tank and Catherine Deneuve, with the avant-garde, free and legendary cinema that Rami Malek so brilliantly conveys.
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English writer, producer and author who became famous for amalgamating genres. He’s made numerous films, ranging from iconic crime capers – ‘Snatch’, ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, ‘RocknRolla’, ‘The Gentlemen’ – to more commercial, critically acclaimed films including ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and its sequel, ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’, as well as ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E’., the live-action adaptation of the Disney film, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Wrath of Man’. He also currently has two films in post-production: ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ and ‘Onus’.
Ritchie says that the idea behind the film is the fantasy of crossing the bridge, from one bank to the other, a metaphor for the passage of time. He didn’t want to be too precious with this story, and preferred to add a fantasy element to it. It’s more of an encounter with cinema that is not necessarily literal and precise and that’s what makes the film unique.
Indifferent to the preconceived ideas that relegated him for a time to stereotypical roles, actor Rami Malek follows his own path and relies on his differences. It’s this creative and spiritual uniqueness that has made him a natural ambassador for Cartier time, whose vision he shares; that of a watchmaker who is equally attached to quality of time as well as its measurement.
Born in 1981 in Los Angeles to an immigrant family, Rami Malek garnered attention in the series ‘Mr. Robot’, for which his interpretation of the main character earned him an Emmy Award and industry recognition. His career accelerated in 2016 with the filming of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, in the lead role of singer Freddie Mercury. The tour de force performance won him a Golden Globe in 2019 followed by a “Best Actor” Oscar a month later. In 2020, he also starred opposite Daniel Craig in the 25th James Bond film ‘No Time To Die’ as the main villain.
