More instances that mirror the life of Christ as recorded in the Gospels: - Daniel recruits actors to work with him similar to the way Jesus recruited his disciples. The first, Constance, is found working charitably in a soup kitchen, and Daniel says simply, "I came for you." - The judge (like Pilate) sends Daniel to a second-opinion person (the psychologist is like Herod) who finds nothing wrong with him and sends him back to the judge/Pilate.
Ron Lea, who plays Daniel's doctor at the end of the film, also served as the voice of Daniel himself in the English dub of the film.
The idea for the film came about when Denys Arcand encountered an actor at an audition who was sporting a beard. The actor apologized and said "Sorry, I'm Jesus", explaining that he was appearing in a passion play. Intrigued, Arcand went to see the play and the idea for his next film was hatched.
The French Canadian churches in Montreal refused to allow any filming to take place in their venues. An English language Catholic church stepped in to allow the filming to take place.
The play in the opening scene appears to be a dramatization of the novel 'The Brothers Karamazov'. Smerdyakov tells Ivan Karamazov that he has murdered Fyodor, inspired by the philosophy he learned from Karamazov. Smerdyakov's suicide monologue is adapted from the diaries of the monk, Father Zossima.