'Sentinelle' Isn't a True Story, but It Will Leave You Wanting More

If you're looking for a movie that could be the saddest movie of 2021 so far that will keep you on the edge of your seat, the French movie Sentinelle is just what you need. Being released in March, it follows the story of a French soldier. Having just come back from combat, the soldier finds out someone has assaulted her sister. She sets off to get revenge on her sister's behalf.

This solder, Klara (Olga Kurylenko), eventually realizes that the person who harmed her sister, Tania (Marilyn Lima), is a man named Yvan Kadnikov (Andrey Gorlenko), the son of a powerful figure of a Russian oligarchy. Because of his status, it's going to be that much harder for Klara to get to him, but that's not about to stop her. Because Sentinelle tackles some really serious issues, it could very well be based on a true story, but is it?

This Netflix movie doesn't appear to be based on a true story. The director of the film, Julien Leclercq, is known for some serious action and adventure movies. Although none of them are based on true stories, they all seem to take somewhat regular people and put them in some pretty extreme situations.

One of Julien's films called The Crew was released in 2015 and follows a group of professional thieves. The group is lead by Yanis Zeri (Sami Bouajila), who's always been able to keep out of prison thanks to his low-key lifestyle that means he's always in stealth mode. Then his brother makes a huge mistake that gets him involved in gang activity. To help his brother, Yanis has to get the crew together for a dangerous drug run. 

The Crew and other movies by Julien have this very dramatic seriousness to it that are meant to leave viewers at the edges of their seats for the whole movie. His creative vision helps develop that feeling in the movies, even if he doesn't base them on anything from real life. 

Over the years, there have been a few movies named Sentinel, including movies released in 1977, 2006, and 2017. Even though these movies may share a name (Sentinelle is just Sentinel in French), they have different plotlines. The 1977 movie is a horror movie about a model who moves into a brownstone in Brooklyn that just so happens to be a gateway to hell.

In the 2006 movie, the focus is on politics. A veteran of the U.S. Secret Service is suspected to be a traitor after he's accused of trying to assassinate the president. It's not him, but it turns out someone in government is a mole who does want the president dead.  

The 2017 movie that shares the name is a lesser-known indie film with a budget of just $200, according to the movie's IMDb. The short film has a much more sci-fi approach. The description on the profile simply says, "This story about an unknown man, a flying war machine and a house. About freedom, time and justice."

Julien Leclercq's Sentinelle is streaming March 5 on Netflix.