Wolf Call - Minaccia in alto mare

Submarine movie genre is quite unique in France, I just remember having seen 40 years ago the René Clément "les Maudits" (with a terrific scene), I really don't remember another french title dealing with submarines. Even in Hollywood, it's a seldom exploited theme. And we have the opportunity to discover a kind of french Joel Silver production, but without Bruce Willis or other great star. And that's cool, all cast is fine (Francis Lavil as the special acoustic young specialist), but real special bravo to director Antonin Baudry and his team : first direction, complete solid and technical direction, tragic suspense, a never seen geo political subject in french cinema. Go on Mr Baudry, we're waiting for your next movie.

Reading the reviews here, it seems to be a love it or hate it movie - I don't understand why. I grew up watching the original Das Boot as TV series and went through all the submarine movies. Instead of comparing the incomparable and saying what is flawed etc., I simply want to point out what I liked watching this movie twice:

• refreshing actor set, no B-movie characters just like "could be your neighbour" type
• storyline that could happen, although we normal people would never hear about it
• great music/ambience perfectly fitting the setting
• straightforward effects, less is more
• happy end without happy end, evoked emotions
• overall a very refreshing, non-cliche Hollywood-type movie.

The sound expert Chanteraide holds the life of his fellow mates in his hands. Onboard high tech submarine Titan a small mistake leads to a confrontation with a mysterious submarine. As the danger of a next war becomes all too real, it's up to Titan and its crew to save the day.

Wolf's Call is the first feature from screen writer Antonin Boudry and it is a tense and inventive thriller where an approaching global disaster is played out on a smaller scale and rests on the shoulders of a few men. Handpicking his hot young stars, the trio of Omar Sy, Francois Civil, and Reda Kateb, Boudry builds on the relationship between the three men, throwing the characters into the crisis of a life time.

A minimalistic score by Tomandandy nicely supports the vast underwater scenes and claustrophobic in-cabin sequences. It is no wonder the film was snatched up by Netflix, it has an interesting concept, well written and acted.

WOLF'S CALL proves that a smaller scale underwater thriller can be tense and engaging even with a very restricted budget.

There's a lot of reviews here making points such as "could not happen".

Ok sure, there's some unrealistic stuff going on.

But there's also a lot of original and thoughtful scenes that are explored. There's a lot of ideas here that feel completely fresh.

The idea that a French submarine, once committed to a nuclear strike, will not receive any orders to abort, is a weak one. Unfortunately a large part of the movie hinges around this concept. The second half of the movie does feel a little silly at times because of this.

I liked the sonar guy as the hero.

I found it very unpredictable right up to the very end. Really enjoyed it. The characters were all week played too. If you enjoyed Hunt for Red October or K19 you'll love this.