Andrea Rossi suffers from muscular dystrophy in real life.
This was Italy's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 2004. It did not make the final five.
In order to win the confidence of the normally withdrawn Andrea Rossi, director Gianni Amelio began working with him almost 6 months before shooting started.
This is Charlotte Rampling's first film in Italian. Although she has made several other Italian films, she has always been dubbed beforehand, so this is the first occasion when Italians could actually hear her real voice.
Kim Rossi Stuart was director Amelio's first choice for the male lead right from the start.