This film marked a turning point in Téchiné’s career, anchoring his work from then on in a more realistic universe from the previous romantic one. For the first time Téchiné let his actors improvise, a practice he has continued ever since, adjusting his scripts to accommodate the new material. “From Hotel des Amériques onwards my films are no longer genre films,” he said. “My inspiration is no longer drawn from the cinema”. This film also started a long productive collaboration with Catherine Deneuve. "There are some directors who are more feminine than others, like Téchiné, like Truffaut. They are an exceptional gift to actresses," Deneuve said about their collaboration.

Source : Wikipedia.