When accepting his Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, director (Fernando Trueba) said: "I would like to believe in God in order to thank him for this prize, but I only believe in (Billy Wilder), so... Thank you, Mr. Wilder!". Wilder himself reportedly phoned Trueba a few days later for acknowledgment and told him: "Hello Fernando, I'm God".
Fernando Trueba shot the movie in Portugal for two main reasons: 1) he couldn't find any place similar to what he had in mind in Spain and 2) the use of that Portuguese location allowed him to empathize the tone of fable the story required.
When Juanito comes to serenade Rocìo, he sings "Las Mañanitas" which in México is used to celebrate a birthday instead of the classic "Happy Birthday To You".
Despite the title, the plot is not set in the period of French history known as the Belle Époque ('The Beautiful Era'), but during the dawn of the Second Spanish Republic, 1931-1939.
The priest played by Agustín González says the line "What I've joined on earth in heaven not separate even God!". González also played a priest and said that same line before in La escopeta nacional (1978).