The film opens with the last total solar eclipse of the millennium in August of 11th, 1999. It was the first total eclipse visible from Europe since 22 July 1990.
The piña colada is a cocktail made with rum, cream of coconut or coconut milk, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice.
The term "Nibelung" (German) or "Niflung" (Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root nebel, meaning mist. The term in its various meanings gives its name to the Middle High German heroic epic the Nibelungenlied. In medieval German, several other uses of the term Nibelung are documented besides the reference to the Gibichungs: it refers to the king and inhabitants of a mythical land inhabited by dwarfs and giants in the first half of the Nibelungenlied, as well as to the father and one of two brothers fighting over a divided inheritance. This land and its inhabitants give their name to the "hoard of the Nibelungs" (Middle High German der Nibelunge hort). In the late medieval Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid, the name, in the form Nybling or Nibling, is given to a dwarf who again gives his name to the treasure.
The movie posters in Nadine's room include Don Juan Demarco (1994), Titanic (1997), and Romeo + Juliet (1996).
Photic retinopathy is damage to the eye's retina, particularly the macula, from prolonged exposure to solar radiation or other bright light, e.g., lasers or arc welders. The term includes solar, laser, and welder's retinopathy and is synonymous with retinal phototoxicity. It usually occurs due to staring at the Sun, watching a solar eclipse, or viewing an ultraviolet, Illuminant D65, or other bright light.