[Ruy Horta]

There is a difference between drama and docudrama, the former is less bound by facts and realism. Atonement is a drama set in wartime, not a reenactment of the Dunkirk campaign. 99% of the audience won't give a damn if the bomber they see on the big screen actually flew in that exact time period, as long as it matches / represents the general era in the popular mind.

Of course there is the issue of availability of aicraft types, or the need to go CG.

PFC isn't only a war movie set during the Normandy campaign, it also reflects OUR perception, interpretation and even translation of the events that happened 60 years ago.

Movies reflect OUR current culture and interpret events that happened in a different (past) curture. The way 50-ies movies portrayed WW2 differs from the way 70-ies movies did etc. We change, our taste in drama changes with us.

Of course current politics and ideology plays a part.

Das Boot, Stalingrad and even the upcoming Red Baron all have one thing in common, incidentally you could call it atonement, that is the death of the hero in the end. Only Der Untergang gives a new beginning for the main protagonist - who as a secretary can still be considered an innocent bystander.

That thinking movies have an element of philosophy is something that I personally welcome.

Of course there are times when I enjoy a movie like 300, that is drama without deep thought and perhaps even more than a little propaganda. But at least now I am old enough to filter out the message that I don't need and enjoy what is left.

Looking forward to watching Atonement, not because of Dunkirk and WW2, but because I enjoyed the director's previous movie with Knightly: Pride and Pejudice! Call me a sissy...