As of 2015, this is the last film directed by Nanni Moretti where he also plays the main character. All his subsequent appearances in his own films are either supporting roles or extended cameos.
Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2001 (#09)
The Latin lines that crop up are from Lucretius' De rerum natura. The full passage reads as follows: "Haec sic pernosces parva perductus opella; namque alid ex alio clarescet nec tibi caeca nox iter eripiet, quin ultima naturai pervideas: ita res accendent lumina rebus. (Lucretius, De Rerum Natura I, 1114-1117) An (old-fashioned) English translation: "These points, if thou wilt ponder, Then, with but paltry trouble led along... For one thing after other will grow clear, Nor shall the blind night rob thee of the road, To hinder thy gaze on Nature's Farthest-forth. Thus things for things shall kindle torches new."
Jasmine Trinca's debut.