The film portrays the city of Concepción, Chile, as a warm, tropical, Third World small town. This caused a furor in Concepción, with people walking out of the theaters and others calling for authorities to ban the movies.
Filming in Louisiana was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina.
AnnaSophia Robb does not speak a single line of dialogue in the film until 1 hour and 25 minutes into the run-time.
When Isabelle walks Katherine and Ben to the Haven Church, she calls the baby in the stroller "Pud", after sound mixer Pud Cusack.
Philip Glass was the film's original composer. His score had been written and recorded before he was replaced by John Frizzell.