Jennifer Ehle, who plays Young Valerie, is the daughter of Rosemary Harris, who plays Older Valerie.
The character of Adam Sonnenschein/Sors (played by Ralph Fiennes) draws heavily upon the life and death of two great Hungarian Jewish sabreurs, Attila Petschauer and Endre Kabos (winner of Olympic Gold in Sabre at the 1936 Berlin Games). Tragically, neither survived World War II and the Holocaust.
The venerable courtyard and house used as the Sonnenschein family home in the film is, in reality, the house where director István Szabó grew up.