Released in November of 2001, Behind Enemy Lines came out in a totally different time in history. 9/11 had just happened, and tensions were high all over the world, especially in the U.S.

This movie is a little dose of “rah-rah NATO” rescuing an American navigator from…Yugoslavians? No, Serbs. But there are Bosnians there too, and Croats? What _exactly _was going on over there? Don’t worry, this movie doesn’t really cover that, and there is no quiz at the end.

Loosely based on the 1995 downing of U.S. Air Force pilot Scott O’Grady (who sued the production for not getting his permission to tell the story), the film is a pretty straight-forward action movie. Owen Wilson's Lt. Burnett is shot down by Serb militia, the U.S. pushes to go rescue him, and all the while NATO is concerned about the rescue threatening the tenuous cease-fire agreement and the war starting back up. This is not a complex political thriller, but more of a popcorn war movie that is equally as good as it is bad.

Join us for Tyler's return to the show as he uses his training and expertise you heard all about in our last episode to analyze what the film got right and what it got wrong. Kt and Liam will be back next episode, we promise!

Next Episode: The Woman King (2022)

Sources for the history in this episode:

Reflecting History Podcast Episodes 62-69: The Bosnian War

Johnny Harris - The Worst War You Never Learned About

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