'' Behind Enemy Lines '' is a 2001 American war film directed by John Moore in his directorial debut , and starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman . The film tells the story of Lieutenant Chris Burnett , an American naval flight officer who is shot down over Bosnia and uncovers genocide during the Bosnian War . Meanwhile , his commanding officer is struggling to gain approval to launch a combat search and rescue mission to save Burnett . The plot is loosely based on the 1995 Mrkonjić Grad incident that occurred during the war
genocide
Bosnian genocide
Behind Enemy Lines (2001 film)