END — moviewatch
M OVIE WATC H
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Vostok Amphibia ‘Zissou’ and Rolex GMT Master reflect the lead character’s fortunes
Wes Anderson films aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. Quirky doesn’t even come into it. In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou specifically, the humour is very deadpan, the characters are rarely sympathetic and the plot is often inscrutable. If you’ve yet to delve into the strange waters of the film, a little summary of that plot. Having lost his partner to a shark (under rather suspicious circumstances) the eponymous Zissou, played fabulously by Bill Murray, enlists a rag-tag team of Wes Anderson regulars to hunt the oversized fish down. As ever from the director it’s beautifully shot and the attention to detail is so extreme that it feels like every frame could be the subject of a dissertation by film students up and down the country. Of course, the detail we’re interested in is the choice of watches worn by the cast and characters. It would be remise of me not to start with the watch worn by the eponymous star, Steve Zissou (Bill Murray). The character is based on the real-life oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, even down to the ever-present red hat, so you might expect Murray to be equipped with a timepiece from Cousteau’s own collection, like a Rolex Submariner or Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, maybe a Doxa. However, Zissou is down on his luck, with his ship the Belafonte practically falling apart, so a luxury timepiece wouldn’t make sense. Instead, they opted for a Vostok Amphibia - the cheap (at less than £100) and cheerful Russian diver’s watch. In fact, the ref. 420526 that Murray wore is better known as the Vostok Amphibia ‘Zissou’ and Vostok even released a commemorative caseback with his face on it. It’s the perfect choice, with all the same industrial charm as the Belafonte and fitting perfectly with the in-story budget problems faced by the character. In fact, multiple characters tout Vostoks. However, there is a wolf among the Vostok sheep. Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson) waltzes into the film with a Rolex GMT Master. It immediately makes Ned stand out as suspicious. Why is someone with a watch that outprices everyone on the Belafonte so interested in joining in? It’s a watch that demands centre stage, which Anderson is willing to give it with multiple scenes that isolate the watch in the foreground. It makes us doubt Ned’s intentions. Is he trying to upstage and take over from his supposed father, Steve Zissou – as some of the crew suspect? However, much like the Rolex GMT Master with its 48-hour power reserve Calibre 3075, Ned turns out to have a heart of gold and is the focus of much of the film’s emotional resolution. It’s perhaps unsurprising that it takes a quirky director like Anderson to realise the subtle juxtaposition between Rolex and Vostok but you have to admit it, it’s perfect watch casting.
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