The Wolf’s Call: this military thriller, by Antonin Baudry, doesn’t innovate much, as it follows a pair of submarine crews as they struggle to carry out orders received during a crisis. It does, however, tell its story well enough, and it defends its idea (of the dangers of an automatic military machine and the sense of patriotic duty) nicely. François Civil, playing the nerdy sonar specialist at the center of the story, is convincing enough. Omar Sy, Reda Kateb, and Mathieu Kassovitz, as a few of the commanders also involved, are all effective, if not particularly much used. Aesthetically, the film is convincing, from cinematographer Pierre Cottereau’s images to the designs of Benoît Barouh (production design) and Mimi Lempicka (costumes); the sound design, which is essential to the story, may or may not be realistic, but it is credible. The musical score, by
tomandandy, complements it well.