Year Released: 2001
Directed by: John Moore
Starring: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman
(PG-13, 105 min.)
Genre: Action &Adventure, Suspense

“Evade and survive, and we will bring you home. You got that? We will bring you home.” –Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman)

It’s a great thriller, complete with Top Gun flying, Jason Bourne paranoia, narrow escapes, unexpected allies, and ironic humor as only Owen Wilson can provide. With Gene Hackman’s added gravitas as a counterpoint.

Behind Enemy Lines explores the soldier’s endless dilemma: to prepare for war while simultaneously keeping the peace. Especially during America’s recent interventions in territories that have been at each other’s throats for centuries.

The film is set in the waning days of the Bosnian War, ending the bitter conflict among Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia. Oh yes, the Balkans again, giving the Middle East a run for its money in terms of ancient blood feuds, the belligerent factions – Bosnian Muslims, Croatian Roman Catholics, and Serbian Eastern Orthodox forgetting the uneasy truce enforced by Josip Broz Tito, who kept all six Slav republics together in a unified Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death in 1980.

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Take rebels like Tom Cruise’s Maverick, Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, mellow them out a bit, keeping the flyboy arrogance and attitude, as well as the former assassin’s persistence and moral drive, and you have Lieutenant Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson). Well, almost. You’ll need to throw in a little blonde valley boy grin as well.

But Lt. Burnett is not too happy about his situation on the USS Carl Vinson, waiting out the peace negotiations overseen by NATO, and he complains to his Marine buddy Rodway.

Rodway: Don't you forget what you are doing.
Burnett: What are we doing here? Are you kidding me? Well, I am eating Jello, and he is wiping his hands.
Rodway: You don't get to pick a fight. It comes to you.
Burnett: Yeah, I get it. But at least give me a fight that I can understand.

And even less so when he and his flying partner Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht) are assigned routine recognizance on Christmas day, the one time of the year when the navy grub is actually decent.

However, that routine mission becomes anything but when our rebel flyboy decides to take a detour, He has seen something suspicious in the demilitarized zone.

Stackhouse: We're not supposed to fly that sector, Chris. The brass will have a sh*t-fit.
Burnett: Hey, we're on recon so let's recon something.

But it is not the brass that is having a fit; it is the Serb Army caught filling a mass grave, and even Stackhouse’s superb flying cannot outsmart all 4 of the smart missiles they send in pursuit.

And yes, from here on the audience has to suspend its disbelief – Big Time – with Lt. Burnett somehow evading a whole army, dodging barrage after barrage of bullets, not to mention a few land mines, a slip into a swamp of corpses right out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as a sniper hot on his trail.

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What keeps all this grounded, however, is Gene Hackman’s Admiral Reigart. He is as hard as nails in his first confrontation with Lt. Burnett, telling the brash navigator that he doesn’t know the first thing about serving his country. Then the admiral shuts down the lieutenant’s complaints about not actually fighting as he was trained to do:

“Unless we're parked in San Diego Bay, you're at war every time you step on this boat.”

Even when Burnett, downed behind enemy lines and on the run, first gets through to the ship, the captain, who has quietly been fretting about Burnett, will not show the boy any sympathy:

Zero-six, you've been shot down. Life is tough. You're a combat aviator! Start acting like one! Remember your training, put some angles between you and your pursuers. Evade and survive and we will bring you home! You got that? We WILL bring you home!

But it’s that last sentence that proves so difficult, and the answer is what is it always is in war. Politics. Reminding those of us World War II aficionados of the same gamesmanship that occurred among Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton, with England’s Mongomery adding another touchy ego to the brew. (Those who want to explore this dynamic would do well to watch Silence Patton on Amazon.)

Some critics, as well as the real Lt. Burnett, who, by the way, sued 20th Century Fox for making the film without his permission as well as presenting him as someone who swore and disobeyed orders, are not particular fans. Of course, changing real characters to fit the drama Hollywood and yes, even we audience thrill-seekers crave, has always been the way of tinsel town.

But the real pull of the film is the respect and rapport that grows between the admiral and his rebellious lieutenant.

Along the way, as each rescue mission has to stand down due to bad weather, politics, or even egocentric “diplomats,” the admiral complies with military discipline, but he is at war with himself.

For the answer to who will win that internal war and how our lonely flyboy on the run will fare, you will have to see for yourself.

Even better the second time around for Different Drummer. Stream it now.

–Kathy Borich
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Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

Navy Lt. Chris Burnett is in a funk. He is tired of his role of babysitting the prolonged peace negotiation during the Bosnian/Serb conflict. He joined the navy to fly, to see combat.

“Everybody thinks they're going to get a chance to punch some Nazi in the face in Normandy, but those days are over. They're long gone,” he complains to Admiral Reigart.

He then confesses that after serving the navy for 7 years, he is going to resign.

Not happy with his pilot’s attitude, the admiral gives him a Christmas day assignment, the one day of the year where they get a good meal.

Let’s help the poor guy out, but forget the predictable navy feast.

We are cooking up some delicious Bosnian crepes called palacinke, a favorite for Christmas breakfast there.

These are especially light and delicious with a traditional nutella center and sliced bananas.

Prijatno!

Bosnian Banana Crepes

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup Nutella
3-4 bananas, sliced
additional Nutella and powdered sugar, for topping

Directions

Add the eggs, canola oil, sugar, flour, milk, and vanilla to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Heat a 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grease lightly with butter or cooking spray. Pour a small amount of crepe batter into the pan, and move the pan in a circular motion to coat the entire bottom of the pan with batter. Let cook about thirty to sixty seconds, or until the edges of the batter bubble slightly, and it's easy to slide a spatula under the edge of the crepe. Flip using a spatula and cook another fifteen to thirty seconds. Remove from pan and stack on a plate.

Spread each crepes with about a tablespoon of Nutella down the middle, then top with sliced bananas. Roll up the crepes. Drizzle with additional Nutella if desired, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

The Baker Upstairs. Com