In one scene, Gérard Depardieu's character stops to look at a magazine featuring François Truffaut on the cover. This is a tribute to the famed director who died a week before filming and with whom Depardieu had collaborated with on The Last Metro (1980) and The Woman Next Door (1981).
Actors Richard Anconina and Sophie Marceau did not get along with director Maurice Pialat during filming. Marceau, who was brought to tears by Pialat, refused to promote the film upon release.
Screenwriter Catherine Breillat wrote a novelization of the film at the same time as she wrote the screenplay, which angered director Maurice Pialat, who fired her before changing his mind.