The interiors of the hotel where Philbin and Veronkha stay were in fact the director's apartment, redressed and with an elaborate new paint job.
The Germans use a grenade/explosive device with the inscription "Gott strafe Kanada". This means "May God punish Canada."
Guy Maddin has stated that audience members viewing the film for the first time often confused the characters Veronkha and Danchukh because of the physical similarities between Kathy Marykuca and Sarah Neville. Marykuca was a natural blond and wore a dark wig for the film.