Liam Neeson and Micheál Neeson have both lived through this film's premise with the tragedy of Neeson's wife and Richardson's mother Natasha Richardson, who died on March 18, 2009 after falling and receiving a head injury while skiing in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. She was 45.
Natalia's restaurant is named "Frantoio." This is the Italian word for "Crusher," a machine used in the olive oil-making process.
Liam Neeson wears a Tulane Green Wave shirt for the first 30 minutes of the movie. His son, Daniel Neeson, attended and graduated from Tulane.
The film the villagers are watching in the town square is Il Basilischi (in Italian) or The Basilisks (in English). Directed by
Lina Wertmüller, the 1963 neorealistic story follows the uneventful lives of Francesco, Sergio, and Antonio, three young men who live in a small, poverty-stricken village. Since all three are unemployed, they while their time away roaming the streets and chasing girls.