Trivia

Debut theatrical feature film directed by French director Arthur Joffé.

The film in 1986 was nominated for five French César film Awards including Best Sound (Meilleur son), Best First Work (Meilleure première oeuvre) and Best Cinematography (Meilleure photographie). In the end, it won two gongs, for Best Poster (Meilleure affiche) and Best Costume Design (Meilleurs costumes).

A similarly themed tele-movie which shared the same title debuted the following year (See: Harem (1986)). The 1985 picture features a character called Selim whilst the 1986 tele-film features a character called Salim.

The film has often been compared with The Sheik (1921) starring Rudolph Valentino.

The film features one Oscar (Academy Award) winner - Ben Kingsley.