MOvie Cloud Atlas

Okay, so I broke down and saw the movie Cloud Atlas before finishing the book. As with the book it was a little confusing, but had a good rhythm, problem is that is did not solve the questions I have, about timing. See in the movie all the characters are played by the same cast. So is this movie trying to say that these are the same people just in different time periods or is it saying that they are all related, which seems impossible because not one of them had children. Also there is the comet birth mark that never gets answered in the movie, just mentioned, and the birth mark is on a different spot on each character. There are differences in the movie from the book, for instance who has the birthmark, how people come to be linked to the previous story and sequences of events, especially with Somni and on the island of Hawaii. Also significant, at least I think is the sacred place that we see both at the beginning of the book and in Hawaii, but it is not mentioned in the movie. So once again we have more information to be obtained by the book. I should be finished this book before the end of the week. I will let you know if I get my questions answered or if this is a book that will be debated for its essential meaning.