Directed by: Antonin Boudry

Starring: Francois Civil, Omar Sy, Matthieu Kassovitz, Reda Cateb, Jean-Yves Berteloot

During a tense mission off the coast of Syria, sonar expert “Socks” Chanteraide discovers his submarine is being stalked by an unknown vessel with a unique propellar sound. Upon returning tk base, he disobeys orders to investigate further, learning that the vessel is a hitherto considered decomissioned Russian submarine. However this discovery lurches the world ever closer to the brink of nuclear war…

The Wolf’s Call is a very solid submarine thriller which portrays a very real nightmarie scenario.

The film starts with a 20 minute mission to rescue a special forces unit form Syria. The mission is hampered by troops on the ground actively hunting them and an Iranian destroyer on the surface. Not only that but Chanteraid is picking up strange signals which might be from another submarine.

Once back at base, his discovery is dismissed as an underwater drone. He persists however and disobeys orders, sneaking into the naval archives to prove his point, which lands him in more hot water.

Just when you think the film is setting itself up to hunt down the rogue sub however, the plot takes a few unexpected turns and develops into a nightmarish scenario. Chanteraid finds himself in the wrong place at the right time to provide key information and uncover an insidious plot to start World War 3.

The Wolf’s Call manages to avoid most of the cliche’s associated with Submarine movies. No one onboard tries to mutiny or disobey orders - in fact lot of the tension comes from ths fact that people are doing exactly as ordered. There’s no silly “silent running” scene, either. Instead we focus on the aural landscape, peering into the deep to discern different sounds and try to decide if they pose a threat.

Francois Civil takes the main lead as Chanteraide, nicknamed Socks because he spent a month on board not wearing shoes. His skill as a sonar technician is unparalleled but he’s portrayed as an outsider, like a goalie or kicker in American football. He is the only person who can conceive of breaking rules and not following orders but isn’t farsighted enough to consider the consequences of his actions.

The production values are very high and the action very well shot. The opening mission is very tense and gives you a good idea of what to expect ahead. There is sn interesting comparison between thd cramped conventional sub with the newer nuclear sub Chanteraide’s former captain is put in charge of.

THE VERDICT

The Wolf’s Call is a tense thriller delivering a modern nightmare which could all too easily come to fruition. It provides an interesting perspective by focussing on the sonar tech and manages to avoid most of the cliches associated with the submarine genre.

8 Out of 10

MikeOurWest