| The Wolf's Call | |
|---|---|
 French theatrical release poster | |
| French | Le chant du loup |
| Directed by | Antonin Baudry |
| Written by | Antonin Baudry |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Pierre Cottereau |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Tomandandy |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Pathé[2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes[1] |
| Country | France[2] |
| Language | French[1] |
| Budget | €20 million[4] |
| Box office | US$12.6 million[5] |
The Wolf's Call (French:Le Chant du loup) is a 2019 Frenchaction thriller film written and directed byAntonin Baudry in his feature filmdirectorial debut.[6] The film is about a submarine's sonar operator, Chanteraide (François Civil), who must use his brilliant sense of hearing to track down a French ballistic missile submarine and end the threat of nuclear war.
The film was released theatrically in France byPathé on 20 February 2019.Netflix acquired distribution rights for North America, Latin America, Spain and Scandinavia, where the film was released in Summer 2019.
The French submarineTitan –Titane (Titanium) in the original French version – is sent near the Mediterranean coast ofTartus, Syria to stealthily recover aFrench Special Forces unit operating in the area. The submarine sails under the command of Captain Grandchamp andExecutive Officer (XO) D'Orsi. However, during their mission they encounter an unidentified sonar contact. The sonar expert of the submarine, Chanteraide – nicknamed "Socks", and serving as "golden ear", the officer specialized inunderwater acoustics – first classifies the contact as a wounded whale, but it quickly turns out that the contact is an unknown submarine transmitting their position to anIranian frigate and a maritime helicopter operating in the area. The helicopter launches depth charges in what seems to be an unprovoked act of aggression which, however, is a valid defensive measure as theTitan is in fact violating sovereign Syrian waters while recovering a foreign force that has already engaged in combat and killed Syrian nationals. After evading the barrage, theTitan surfaces, and the captain shoots down the helicopter with aPanzerfaust 3. They recover the Special Forces unit and return to base.
When theTitan returns to base, the radio announces thatRussia is invading Finland'sÅland Islands, and that theFrench President has decided to send a naval task force to theBaltic Sea in support of Finland. The Russian government then threatens nuclear retaliation against the French Republic. Chanteraide, trying to identify the unknown contact in Syria, hacks into his superior officer's computer and after conducting research at a bookstore where he starts a romantic relationship with Diane, as well as the naval archives, discovers that it is in fact a RussianTimour IIIballistic missile submarine, supposedly dismantled. Meanwhile, Grandchamp is promoted for his actions to command SSBNFormidable –Effroyable (Dreadful) in the original French version – while D'Orsi takes over command ofTitan.
TheFormidable is launched with its new captain and theTitan as its escort submarine. Chanteraide is pulled aside during roll call and Grandchamp explains he has failed his drug test and will not be boarding the submarine. Chanteraide distresses at the now empty dock but after an air raid siren sounds, runs into the bunker where the naval staff have relocated. The French military command detects a RussianR-30 nuclear missile being launched by theTimour III from theBering Sea, prompting the French President to order theFormidable to launch one of its nuclear missiles against Russia in response.
In the command bunker, Chanteraide finds an anomaly while listening to the recording of the launch - the missile sounds too light, because it was launched without a nuclear warhead. Chanteraide and his superior officer immediately call the admiral in command of theStrategic Oceanic Force (the ALFOST), but the ALFOST puts them on hold as theUS Secretary of State has also called. The Secretary of State reveals critical intelligence that the terrorist organisation Al-Jadida had illegally bought the decommissionedTimour III submarine from a corrupt admiral and launched an empty missile at France, tricking the French into an irrevocable procedure to launch a nuclear counterstrike from theFormidable. The ALFOST and Chanteraide are then flown by helicopter to theTitan in an attempt to stop the nuclear launch by all means necessary.
Grandchamp prepares to fire the nuclear missile, following procedure and eliminating all outside communication while keeping the submarine in stealth mode. After D'Orsi is rebuffed in his efforts to communicate with Grandchamp viaunderwater telephone, he attempts to approachFormidable by swimming to it in person. He is killed when Grandchamp launches a torpedo atTitan to prevent their attempts to foil his missile launch. This torpedo grazes theTitan and only causes minor damage.Titan then launches its own torpedo atFormidable.Formidable then returns fire. While Chanteraide breaks down under the pressure of targeting his former commander, the ALFOST is able to use his experience from formerly commandingFormidable to predict Grandchamp's evasive actions.Titan's torpedo explodes above theFormidable's bridge, as Grandchamp is able to release ballast air and throw the torpedo enough off target to prevent direct impact, although the control room is devastated.Formidable's torpedo hitsTitan which begins to sink.
Grandchamp orders the evacuation of thecarbon monoxide filled control room and denies appeals to issue an SOS call, intending to follow orders and launch the nuclear missile first. On theTitan, Chanteraide and the ALFOST, the sole survivors of the torpedo impact, escape the burning area of the ship, Chanteraide makes a last call to theFormidable over an underwater telephone. Chanteraide recalls Grandchamp's prior trust in him, and begs him not to fire the missile, before saying goodbye in the face of his impending death on the strickenTitan. With his dying breath, Grandchamp removes the nuclear targeting board, preventing the missile from being launched. The ALFOST is able to evacuate Chanteraide via the escape hatch, but is unable to evacuate himself. As Chanteraide surfaces in a lifejacket, his eardrums are destroyed. Chanteraide is rescued by a helicopter. A deaf Chanteraide attends a memorial held on a submarine for the fallen French sailors. The final scene shows Chanteraide reuniting with his girlfriend Diane.
.jpg)
The Wolf's Call was inspired by directorAntonin Baudry's real life experiences as a diplomat, advisor and speechwriter for France's formerForeign Minister,Dominique de Villepin.[7] Baudry spent a month observing a real French military submarine to make the film credible.[8]
Baudry said of the film:
I wanted to draw inspiration from real life instead of adopting the codes of a preestablished genre. I did not base my work on other submarine movies. Most of them are American, and yet in France we have also been confronted with issues of nuclear power and dissuasion. We also have a fleet of submarines, and what I observed does not correspond to what you see in U.S. movies. I therefore decided to only draw inspiration from what I saw and felt – even though there are submarine films I love, such asDas Boot andThe Hunt for Red October.[8]
Principal photography began on 24 July 2017 and wrapped on 20 October 2017.[9] Filming took place inToulon,[10] then in theGiens Peninsula and theLevant Island, at theDGA Essais de missiles in theVar department inBrest,[11] and inParis.[10]
Some scenes in the film were shot on actual French submarines.[12]
The film was released theatrically in France byPathé on 20 February 2019.[3]Netflix bought the distribution rights for North America, Latin America, Spain and Scandinavia, where the film was released in Summer 2019.[13]
The reviewer Anthony Kao from Cinema Escapist states that the film's military sequences depict a "more muscular France" with "Frenchhard power" acting as part of a "more militarily assertive Europe", noting that these political storylines are influenced by director Antonin Baudry having "previously served as a high-ranking French diplomat." Kao states that even though the film has an "... ambitious plot that spans multiple vessels, naval bases, and countries, it never gets weighed down or overly hard to follow", which contrasts with the typical Frenchart film that North American audiences associate with that country, which is usually "esoteric and inaccessible."[14]
Reviewer Brenden Gallagher fromThe Daily Dot calls the film "tense submarine warfare forTom Clancy fans", a reference to Clancy's submarine classicThe Hunt for the Red October. Gallagher callsThe Wolf's Call "... pulse-pounding action and military intrigue on a level you just don’t see from Hollywood filmmaking anymore" that is, while being "familiar and predictable", still a "well-constructed" movie. He states that while the film's $22 million production budget is much lower than a similar US film would get, the French film does well within its budgetary constraints.[15]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Wolf's Call is a classic submarine action-thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat."[16]
The film debuted at number 5 at the French box office[5] and sold over 1.5 million tickets in France.[2] It grossedUS$12.6 million worldwide.[5]