There are many references in the movie to "The O.A.S.," in conversation, and overheard on radio and television newscasts. OAS - or Organisation armée secrète, literally "Organization of the Secret Army" or "Secret Armed Organization," was a French nationalist terrorist organization during the Algerian War (1954-62), which ended in independence for Algeria in July 1962, which was not only the time setting for this movie, but the Algerian War was also the background conflict that propelled much of the plot of this film. Using armed struggle in an attempt to prevent Algeria's independence, OAS's motto was "Algeria is French and will remain so" (L'Algérie est française et le restera).
In a discussion at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival, André Téchiné spoke about how the film became a success for unexpected reasons: "My intention was to make a film on the repercussions of the war in Algeria in Provence, France, where I spent my teenagehood. The film, in fact, became a success for a completely different reason. For a reason that I did not at all expect. People said the film was successful because it talked about the discovery of homosexuality, which is really strange because that wasn't my intention at all. It's true, one of the 3 protagonists is a homosexual, and this is one of the dimensions of the film, but when I make a film, I am interested mostly in the destiny of my characters, in the characters themselves. And in that film, the Algerian War was the central piece of the film. I wanted to show how the war was changing the life in that school... but actually, the reason why the film was successful was because it gave a certain representation of homosexuality."
Stéphane Rideau and Gaël Morel have worked together in two films: L'età acerba (1994) and Lontano (2001). Also, Gaël Morel has directed Stéphane Rideau in four films: La vie à rebours (1995), A Tutta velocità (1996), Premières neiges (1999) and Le clan (2004).
The project was first conceived as part of a television film series dealing with adolescence, Tous les garçons et les filles de leurs âges, entitled Le chêne et le roseau (The Oak and the Reed), which made up the first 55 minutes of Wild Reeds. But after completing the script, Téchiné decided to make it a full theatrical release.