History Film / TheWolfsCall

* TrivialTitle: The wolf's call is a term designating the sonar that is dipped from the surface to detect the submarine. However, the device ultimately has little to do with the plot, its name seemingly being used because it sounds cool.

* CallBack: In the end, Chanteraide recalls that Grandchamp trusts him and reminds him of the conversation they had about the wolf's call.

* CallBack: Early in the movie, Chanteraide hears Prairie coming from behind him trying to surprise him, and turns around. [[spoiler: At the end of the movie, she has to touch him for him to notice her, because he has lost his hearing.]]

* EmbarrassingNickname: Chanteraide is called Chaussettes[[note]]socks[[/note]] by his colleagues because he once went through a whole sub mission in his socks, completely disregarding protocol because of this but as an Oreille d’Or, his skills are too indispensable to subject him to disciplinary action.

* {{Adorkable}}: Chanteraide, who is already somewhat socially awkward sees a beautiful librarian and begins to fumbles his every line while trying to keep his cool.

** The movie takes several jabs at the French administration for being slow an inefficient. For instance, an important military headquarter’s call to the President is put on hold for several seconds, accompanied with an inappropriate music. Later, [=ALFOST=] complains about a broken computer screen that hasn’t been replaced yet and demands an explanation from the crew, to which he is answered, “This is France”.

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The head of the [=CIRA=] has quite a lame computer password, which is just the name of his wife Beatrice, plus "7". It still takes Chanteraide having most of the password already figured out -- by remembering the sound of the keystrokes -- to deduce the rest.

* LawfulStupid: The crew of [[spoiler:the ''Effroyable'']] must follow protocol at all cost because they are [[spoiler:the military after all and are responsible for one of the keystones of France’s military strategy with their nuclear missiles]]. As such, despite all signs telling them to stop, they continue through the nuclear launch.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The French nuclear ballistic missile submarine ''Effroyable''[[note]]meaning the “Dreadful” in English[[/note]]. As a submarine responsible for nuclear deterrence, it helps that its name is equally as fearsome as its load.

->'''[[FourStarBadass ALFOST]]:''' In death, only victory is beautiful\\

* CallBack: In the end, Chanteraide recalls that Grandchamp trusts him and reminds him of the conversation they had about the wold's call.

Chanteraide works as an ''oreille d'or''[[note]]litteraly a golden ear, a submariner whose main task is listening at the sonar and identifying noises[[/note]] in a submarine named the ''Titane'', commanded by his mentor figure, Ship Captain Grandchamp. In a world succumbing to military tensions between Europe and Russia, the Marine Nationale is deploying its nuclear submarine and flauting its nuclear deterrents more than ever.

* BaitAndSwitch: In the end, Grandchamp is crawling toward the launch button while Chanteraide begs him not to do it. Chanteraide reminds him of the wolf's call conversation they had, which causes Grandchamp to pause, but then he resumes crawling toward the button. He reaches out and [[spoiler:pulls the launch tray out of its slot, directly below the launch button, disarming the nuke]].

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: Chanteraide pieces together that the strange sound he’s detected comes from an old class of submarines named the “Timour III” which is an old Russian type of supposedly-decommissioned submarines. The Marine figures that Russia has probably kept an old model hidden long enough for it to not be archived in enemy subs’ databases [[spoiler:but is ultimately proven false. Jihadists have bought the subs in secret and are manipulating the French into ordering a nuclear strike against Russia.]]

* ChromosomeCasting: Most of the named characters are men, with Prairie as the only named female character. At least, the staff of the Marine and submarines themselves showcase a few women.

* CoolGuns: Captain Grandchamp must take out a rocket launcher out of the weapon’s cache in the sub to shoot down an attacking helicopter.

* MarkOfTheBeast: One of the submariners in the ''Effroyable'' is shown to have the Brand of Sacrifice from Manga/{{Berserk}} tattooed on his shoulder. He works in a ship that carries nuclear weapons.

* MildlyMilitary: Heavily downplayed, but the crew of the ''Titane'' is somewhat indisciplined in that they do not bother to wear their rank insignias, and the [=ALFOST=] chews them out for this.

* NoNameGiven: [=ALFOST=] or [='''A'''mira'''L'''=] commandant de la '''F'''orce '''O'''céanique [='''St'''ratégique=] [[note]]Admiral Commander of the Strategic Oceanic Force in English[[/note]], is only known by his rank and has no name given. Despite his major involvement in the plot, we actually do not learn his name at all.

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The head of the [=CIRA=] has quite a lame computer password, which is the name of his wife Beatrice. It still takes Chanteraide having most of the password already figured out to deduce the rest.

** The movie takes several jabs at the French administration for being slow an inefficient. For instance, an important military headquarter’s call to the President is delayed by several seconds, accompanied with an inappropriate music. Later, [=ALFOST=] complains about a broken computer screen that hasn’t been replaced yet and demands an explanation from the crew, to which he is answered, “This is France”.

* TrivialTitle: The wolf's call is a term designating the sonar that is dipped from the surface to detect the submarine. However, the device ultimately has little to do with the plot, it's name seemingly being used because it sounds cool.

Chanteraide works as an ''oreille d'or''[[note]]litteraly a golden ear, a submariner whose main task is listening at the sonar and identifying noises[[/note]] in a submarine named the Titane, commanded by his mentor figure, Ship Captain Grandchamp. In a world succumbing to military tensions between Europe and Russia, the Marine Nationale is deploying its nuclear submarine and flauting its nuclear deterrents more than ever.

During a mission off the Syrian shores, Chanteraide spots a suspicious noise coming from a submarine he cannot identify. At first he is pressed into identifying as a "biological" but then the submarine detects the Titane and leaks its location to an enemy warship, resulting in a near disaster. Once back home but obsessed with the sound, Chanteraide works to identify the source of the noise as Russia invades Finland and France deploys one of its nuclear ballistic missiles submarines, the Effroyable whom Grandchamp becomes responsible of while his former crew in the Titane will accompany him. Eventually a nuclear crisis starts and Chanteraide's hearing becomes crucial in detecting and identifying the enemy.

* ActionPrologue: The first 20 minutes of the film are dedicated to a retrieval mission that goes awry as an Iranian warship detects the Titane and the crew now must fend off their assailant.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Chanteraide is an “Oreille d’Or” [[note]]"Golden Ear" in English[[/note]], one of the few technicians of the French Marine Nationale who are trained to listen to everything their subs can sense and is able to identify anything through the sound they make, their nature and their rhythm. Detecting an unknown sound at the beginning of the movie, he already identifies the source as a submarine and nails the number of blades it uses on the propeller. Moreover, the commanding and intelligence officers of the Titane are seasoned sub veterans who manage to track down the probable location and trajectory of [[spoiler: the Effroyable]] thanks to the small clues they have.

* BatmanGambit: The crew of the Titane expects the [[spoiler:Effroyable]] to adopt the most optimal vector to launch its nuclear missile as they know that [[spoiler:captain Grandchamp]] wouldn’t do any less, thus they coordinate with surface forces to force him to a location of the Titane’s choosing to better track it.
* BittersweetEnding: The world narrowly avoids a nuclear war but [[spoiler:the Titane sinks along with almost the entire crew, as well as the Efrroyable getting heavily damaged]] and Chanteraide [[spoiler:loses his hearing because of the decompression when he escapes the sinking sub, rupturing his ear drums]].

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: Chanteraide pieces together that the strange sound he’s detected comes from an old class of submarines named the “Timour III” who is an old Russian type of supposedly decommissioned submarines. The Marine understands that Russia has probably kept an old model hidden long enough for it to not be archived in enemy subs’ databases [[spoiler:but is ultimately proven false. Jihadists have bought the subs in secret and are manipulating the French into ordering a nuclear strike against Russia.]]

* ChekhovsGun: During his night with Prairie, we see a seemingly innocuous shot of her smoking marijuana (illegal in France) and then kissing Chanteraide who breathes the smoke. Later a military medical test finds chemical traces of marijuana in his bloodstream and he’s deemed unfit to [[spoiler:come aboard the Effroyable]].
* ChromosomeCasting: Most of the named characters are men, with only Prairie as the one named female character. At least, the staff of the Marine and submarines themselves showcase a few women.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: During the climax of the movie, the Titane must fight [[spoiler:the Effroyable]]. To distinguish the two bridges, the Titane is bathed in red light while its opponent has the bridge in blue light.
* CoolBoat: The Effroyable is a state-of-the-art nuclear submarine, armed with ballistic nuclear missiles that can strike another continent, designed to be as stealthy as possible, equipped with advanced technology from its display screens to a laser scanner that can visualize the ocean floor, and pretty comfortable quarters to boot for a submarine.

* DecoyAntagonist: The first act of the movie revolves around the unknown submarine Chanteraide detects, which is set up as the main antagonist for the Titane. Identified as a Russian submarine, it then shoots a missile at France. [[spoiler:However, the real climax is about stopping the Effroyable from launching a nuclear missile. The Russian sub was only manipulating the French Marine with a dud missile]].

* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The Brest naval base has one the runs God knows how deep under the surface since it is the headquarter and control room overseeing all naval operations, including those pertaining to a possible nuclear strike.

* FightingYourFriend: The Titane must engage [[spoiler:the Effroyable]] to stop the nuclear strike while [[spoiler:the Effroyable’s crew is also aware that they’re battling fellow countrymen yet]] must treat them as an enemy because they are trying to stop the strike.
* FourStarBadass: [=ALFOST=] proves that he isn’t an admiral for nothing and during the climax of the film takes command of the Titane to hunt down and destroy [[spoiler:the Effroyable]], proving that he’s a seasoned commander who visibly has mastered the subtleties of submarine warfare, can take the best tactical decisions against a superior foe and has the nerves to make the hard choices.
* GoingDownWithTheShip: [[spoiler: [=ALFOST=]]] decides to die alongside [[spoiler:the crew of the Titane while letting Chanteraide escape the sinking ship]].

* HeroicSacrifice: [=ALFOST=] lets Chanteraide [[spoiler:escape the sinking Titane through a torpedo launcher]] while he stays.

* HotSubOnSubAction: The climax of the movie features the Titane hunting the [[spoiler:Effroyable, a state-of-the-art submarine led by one of the Mairne Nationale’s finest commander]]. The Titane is at a huge technological disadvantage and it takes the brilliance of [=ALFOST=] and Chanteraide’s ability to match [[spoiler:the Effroyable]].

* KickTheDog: A crew member of Titane is a jerk to Chanteraide during the opening scene. In the end, he's revealed to be a DirtyCoward who nearly blows the mission.

* LawfulStupid: The crew of [[spoiler:the Effroyable]] must follow protocol at all cost because they are [[spoiler:the military after all and are responsible for one of the keystones of France’s military strategy with their nuclear missiles]]. As such, despite all signs telling them to stop, they continue through the nuclear launch.

* MarkOfTheBeast: One of the submariners in the Effroyable is shown to have the Brand of Sacrifice from Manga/{{Berserk}} tattooed on his shoulder. He works in a ship that carries nuclear weapons.

* MildlyMilitary: Heavily downplayed, but the crew of the Titane is somewhat indisciplined in that they do not bother to wear their rank insignias, and the [=ALFOST=] chews them out for this.

* MilitarySalute: Ever present when the characters interact with each other, driving home the Marine Nationale’s discipline and attachement to protocole.
* MistakenForJunkie: Chanteraide has the misfortune of breathing a bit of his lover’s marijuana joint, and thus traces of the stuff are found during a military medical check. Thus he is forbidden from [[spoiler:entering the Effroyable]] as the submarine forces need their crew to be 100% trustworthy and fit for operation.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The French nuclear ballistic missile submarine “Effroyable” [[note]]meaning the “Dreadful” in English[[/note]]. As a submarine responsible for nuclear deterrence, it helps that its name is equally as fearsome as its load.

* NoNameGiven: [=ALFOST=] or [=AmiraL=] commandant de la Force Océanique [=Stratégique=] [[note]]Admiral Commander of the Strategic Oceanic Force in English[[/note]], is only known by his rank and has no name given. Despite his major involvement in the plot, we actually do not learn his name at all.
* NuclearOption: As military tension begins to rise in the world, the French Marine also begins to seriously consider using its nuclear missiles, although first as nuclear deterrents against a Russian invasion. However, a nuclear missile launch coming from a Russian submarine forces the Marine’s hand and they start the protocole for a retaliatory strike.
* NumberTwo: Inside of a nuclear submarine, the Ship Captain is seconded by the XO, who is second-in-command and in charge of giving orders to the crew while the Ship Captain is responsible for deciding what to do. Frigate Captain D'Orsi is a sterner more authoritative and louder second-in-command to Grandchamp's coolheadedness.

* PlotArmor: The only two people who don't die when the Titan is hit by a torpedo are [[spoiler:Chanteraide and the ALFOST, the only main characters on the sub]].
* PossibleWar: The movie plays up the existing political tensions between Europe and Russia as Russia decides to yet again invade a neighbouring country sitting discomfortably near the European Union, France being at the forefront of military deployments.

* RaceAgainstTheClock: The climax of the movie revolves around stopping the submarine [[spoiler: the Effroyable]] from launching a nuclear missile. The Titane has less than an hour to find a state-of-the-art stealth submarine and then prevent it from carrying through the launch.
* RadioSilence: During the climax, [[spoiler:the Effroyable]] goes radio silent for several reasons. First they are a stealth submarine, secondly, it’s to spare [[spoiler:the crew from listening to the pleas of the Titane to stop the launch and go through the nuclear strike protocol.]] Unlike most example of the trope, it doesn’t involve the IrrevocableOrder consequence of the trope as the order [[spoiler:to launch a missile]] was irrevocable in the first place.

* RedAlert: The crew of the Titane enters the red alert state when they must enter combat mode. The bridge is thus bathed in red light.
* RedShirt: The crew of the Titane. [[spoiler:They all die in the end, save our protagonist Chanteraide]].

* SuperSenses: Chanteraide’s hearing is well above average. As one of the “Oreilles d’Or” of the French Marine, he is responsible for detecting anything swimming near his sub through the sound they make, and then identify them through the subtleties of the sounds. He is able to hear the faintest sounds, knows when his girlfriend is sneaking up on him, and can identify a password by the sound of the keyboard. [[spoiler:He sadly loses his hearing by rupturing his ear drums when he escape a sinking Titane]].

* {{Taps}}: The crew of [[spoiler:the Effroyable]] performs a ceremony to honor [[spoiler:the submariners who died in the senseless battle]], with an actual trumpet for good effect. Yet, we hear none of it since [[spoiler:Chanteraide has gone deaf from ruptured ears]].

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The head of the [=CIRA=] has quite a lame computer password, which is the name of his wife Beatrice. It only takes a minute for Chanteraide to deduce the password.

* TakeThat: The movie takes several jabs at the French administration for being slow an inefficient. For instance, an important military headquarter’s call to the President is delayed by several seconds, accompanied with an inappropriate music. Later, [=ALFOST=] complains about a broken computer screen that hasn’t been replaced yet and demands an explanation from the crew, to which he is answered, “This is France”.

* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail: Averted a few times. When calling his superior on phone the admiral is set on a waiting music by the general's assistant twice. And this film is much about the military executing their procedures while not listening to the rest of the world (in most films they would change their mind due to the power of friendship or something).

* MarkOfTheBeast: One of the submariners in the Effroyable is shown to have the Brand of Sacrifice from Manga/{{Berserk}} tattoeed on his shoulder. He works in a ship that carries nuclear weapons.

* NumberTwo: Inside of a nuclear submarine, the Ship Captain is seconded by the Ship Captain, who is second-in-command and in charge of giving orders to the crew while the Ship Captain is responsible for deciding what to do. Frigate Captain D'Orsi is a sterner more authoritative and louder second-in-command to Grandchamp's coolheadedness.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The flag officers of the Marine Nationale are this. While they are understandably anal about protocole and chew out Chanteraide for breaking into the Marine’s forbidden facilities, they also listen to him and know that he doesn’t deserve to be court-martialed for discovering a new threat to the Marine, thus let him out of trouble.

* AmericaSavesTheDay: Averted. It is stated on the radio that America is currently taking an isolationist stance and has avoided interfering in Europe where tensions with Russia have begun to rise. What's more, the Americans failed to inform Europe [[spoiler:that the Timour III was now in Djihadist hands.]]

* EarAche: Chanteraide breaks his ear drums as he escapes a sinking submarine.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Diane's firstname is Prairie ("Meadow") in reality because her parents thought it was a common French name, but she chose to be called Diane in France.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Chanteraide is called Chaussettes[[note]]socks[[/note]] by his colleagues because he once went through a whole sub mission in his socks, completely disregarding protocole because of this but as an Oreille d’Or, his skills are too indispensable to subject him to disciplinary action.

* UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades: One may notice a few things:
** Have you seen many French films about the military lately?
** When facing a helicopter Grandchamp has to use the one RPG that they have on board. They are not certain it will work, it is locked and they don't have the key.
** Grandchamp is the one guy with a handgun. He is only able to carry it when he unlocks the codes for launching a nuclear weapon, as part of the procedure (presumably in order to be able to face reluctant crew members).
** Sarcasm: Of course damaged computers aren't replaced, this is the French military.
** The ship names are fictional. The Effroyable[[note]]a strong word for "dreadful" or "frightful"[[/note]] can be an expy of the older Redoutable class, or more probably to the Terrible, which is the latest French ballistic missile submarine.

* TheMole: Averted, but Diane really feels like one. She is attractive, has a foreign accent, and litterally hits on Chanteraide on the blue (and she claims to be a librarian but Chanteraide never checks that).

* SilentRunningMode: Submarines are this by defaut, being not so maneuverable and having no cover at all so stealth is the best way to protect themselves. As such everything is thought in order to either be as silent as possible or be as perceptive of enemy sound as possible, to the point a vacuum cleaning inside a submarine is considered a potential security breach when in combat. But then [=ALFOST=] exploits this to find the possible location of the enemy by seeking suspiciously low noises.

* SoundtrackDissonance: During a grave moment, the Marine must contact the Elysée and Presidential office. However, they are treated to a chirpy elevator music as they must wait for an answer, providing a much-needed moment of brevity in the middle of an ongoing nuclear crisis.

* TakeThat: The movie takes several jabs at the French administration for being slow an inefficient. For instance, an important military headquarter’s call to the President is delayed by several seconds, accompanied with an inappropriate music. Later, [=ALFOST=] complains about a broken computer screen that hasn’t been replaced yet and demands an explanation from the crew, to which he is answered “This is France”.

* BackedByThePentagon: Some of the film seems to be shot in an actual French navy base.

During a mission off the Syrian shores, Chanteraide spots a suspicious noise coming from a submarine he cannot identify, resulting in a near disaster. Obsessed with the sound, Chanteraide works to identify the source of the noise as Russia invades Finland and France deploys one of its nuclear ballistic missiles submarines, the Effroyable whom Grandchamp becomes responsible of while his former crew in the Titane will accompany him. Eventually a nuclear crisis starts and Chanteraide's hearing becomes crucial in detecting and identifying the enemy.

''The Wolf's Call'' (French: ''Le Chant du Loup'') is a 2019 French part Drama, part {{Main/Thriller}} movie directed by Antonin Baudry.

* Adorkable: Chanteraide, who is already somewhat socially awkward sees a beautiful librarian and begins to fumbles his every line while trying to keep his cool.

* AmericaSavesTheDay: Averted. It is stated on the radio that America is currently taking an isolationist stance and has avoided interfering in Europe where tensions with Russia have begun to rise.