Claudio Amendola stated that he got along very well with the other cast members, in particular with Massimo Dapporto.
The actors wear uniforms with six-pointed stars instead of five-pointed ones, in order to avoid issues for unauthorized use of military uniforms. Six-pointed stars are visible only in the scene of the new year's party. The friezes are inspired by the ones of the Mechanized Infantry, the blue neck tissues by the ones of the 13th Infantry Division Re.
The military unit 47o Battaglione Genio Pionieri doesn't exist for real.
Massimo Dapporto stated that for his role he was inspired both by his lieutenant when he was an enlisted soldier and by his literature teacher at the middle school. He stated that during filming he tried to maintain the personality of his character also outside from the set.
In the scene where the train reaches the barracks the actors wore summer uniforms, but it was actually one of the coldest nights of the last 30 years. According to Claudio Amendola, it was one of the hardest scenes to be filmed for the whole cast and crew.