He agrees, however, that the film's subject matter is unusual given the current frostiness over the war in Iraq. Reno says he avoided talking about global politics with American friends after September 11. "It was tough," he says. "You see what you want to see inside the news. The other day I was watching the news and do you know that the French have been fighting in Afghanistan since the beginning of the war there? You are not going to say that to the Americans today because it does not go with the (prevailing) mood. The mood is, 'Those damn shit froggies do not agree with the Iraq war.' That was Chirac's opinion — he said it was not a good idea to go to Iraq. That's all."
Reno is adamant that his own military experience could not be brought to bear on Flyboys, where Thenault is indulgent of his charges "because he knows they are going to die." Pilots' life-expectancy was three to six weeks. His portrayal of Thenault "is a bit of romanticism. Blue uniform, moustache. Bon. It is part of the ancient world. Most of the pilots in England and France were nobles so they had that kind of chivalry."
He met with no such indulgence during his national service in the hands of veteran captains who had served in Vietnam and Algeria. "They were cold. Very cold. Oui. I had two suicides in my group of young people. They jumped out of the window. A man broke his whole skeleton because you had to climb up a wall as an exercise." Reno mimes clambering up a wall and explains that they had rifles slung across their shoulders so on this occasion the rifle broke the soldier's back when he fell. "So I am not a fan of military people. I am not a fan of uniforms. All uniforms. Non." He plays military people but "It's not me. Of course, it is my work. I understand. I try."
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