Before choosing the final version of the sex scene that Elio Germano shot with actress Mimosa Campironi, Paolo Franchi forced Germano and his colleague to try and try again for 12 hours. During which, according to the actor's partner, "Elio was naked and excited for twelve hours". In reality, the erect member was a prosthesis made especially for Germano by Sergio Stivaletti, already a wizard of make-up and special effects for Dario Argento.
Back in the early decade of 1990, both actresses from this film, Irène Jacob and Maria De Medeiros, were runners up to the role of Fabienne in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994). Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein were mesmerized by Jacob's onscreen presence after seeing "The Double life of Veronique" in Cannes, however, the role was finally for De Medeiros because Irène Jacob was committed to star in the last chapter in Kieslowski's colors trilogy: "Rouge".
The sex scene between Bruno Todeschini and Irène Jacob caused controversy after the screening due to the explicit nature of their performance and the long discussed subject about non simulated sex in mainstream cinema, at the point both director Paolo Franchi and film critic Maurizio Porro refer to it as a "cult scene" in the extras of the Italian DVD edition, also pointing that it was actually meant to depict romantic love with psychoanalytic overtones, and it was mostly inspired by the scene performed by Ben Gazzara and Katya Berger in the movie Storie di ordinaria follia (1981)
Asked about the controversy on the actual sex scenes performed by the cast, director Paolo Franchi stated it was a method to get actors more emotionally committed to the psyche of their characters, in order to portray more authentic expressions. "If they're in character, they can't avoid to feel their feelings. Nothing is simulated, fake things are always visible. Here the only fake thing are the light effects" adding he felt more intimidated than the actors in between takes.
Director Paolo Franchi stated in a later interview that the sex scenes were originally intended to be more graphic and explicit, but he took "several steps backwards" in order to keep the film stylish and avoid accusations of vulgarity. However, similar scenes to this movie were more graphically depicted and performed in his subsequent film "E la chiamano estate" (2012)