Modern Parallels...

As the film follow the plight of an occupying force confronting guerrilla warfare and unfamiliar surroundings, it's tempting to look for parallels with military operations going on in the world today. Producer Robert Jones admits that there are a lot of interesting analogies between Centurion and the current military operations witnessed across the globe...

"Telling the story from the point of view of an invading army, it has obvious parallels with what's going on in the world today," agrees Marshall. "We've got a Superpower matching into essentially what is a Third World country and being beaten by a kind of guerrilla warfare. They're beaten back and eventually they have to form this line'."

Marshall stresses he was careful to make sure he maintained a clear balance between the Roman 'civility' and the Pict 'barbarism'.

“I'm not playing the Picts as being cold-hearted villains. They are fully rounded people with good reason to want the Romans out of their country. Some of the atrocities that we indicate the Romans have committed against them totally justify their actions."

"The Picts fight in ways that Romans just can't handle," adds Jones. "They are stealthy. They don't use the set formation the Romans are used to dealing with."

In addition, there are individuals who have pause to analyse the intent and operational mode of the Roman military might. Quintus, in particular, has to confront the fallout of his own imperialistic stance during the film. "He is someone who starts as a very pro-Roman patriotic kind of soldier, and ends up completely disillusioned with what his own country has done to him," Jones explains.

But ultimately Marshall denies anything approaching didacticism or political commentary. "Primarily I wanted to tell a story about individuals, and it's about this handful of guys who are fighting their way home. It's their story. So I don't necessarily want the audience to pick a side and choose what's right of wrong. It's about individuals and you root for those individual or you don't. It's much the same as any story really."