The film was shot chronologically, as Iván Massagué had to lose 12 kilos (26 lbs) over the six-week shoot to show his physical deterioration.
The "Verticle Self-Management Center" is an obvious allegory for society, with those at the top provided the best of everything and a willingness to consume far more than necessary at the expense of those below, while those at the lowest levels of society must suffer and go without. This can apply to society within a country or the worldwide society of first world countries. It also attempts to show that revolutionary change within a capitalist society doesn't happen spontaneously, since most people have no class consciousness and live complacent lives.
Trimagasi and Goreng say "obvio" (Eng. "obviously") 26 times during the movie.
Most building floors are numbered from lowest to highest from bottom to top, but the prison is the exact reverse with level 1 at the top, the same numbering system as the Circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno. Inhabitants of the Third Circle, reserved for gluttons, are punished for their excess greed and appetite above on Earth, and like the prison inhabitants on the higher floors, hoard what they desire at the expense of others.