The story is inspired by the real experience of Patrice Chéreau's film editor when she went to the funeral of the gay, manipulative, documentary film-maker, François Reichenbach. The title is the phrase with which Reichenbach summoned friends to his funeral.
Since the film is Patrice Chéreau's tribute to his father, the painter, Jean-Baptiste, is named after Chéreau's father who was also a painter.
Patrice Chéreau chose Limoges for the second half of the story because the train journey had to be a long one, requiring effort.
As of 2022, Limoges is reputed to have one of the largest cemeteries in Europe, Cimetière de Louyat, with its 185,000 residents. The town has only 135,000 live ones.
The sequences on the train were filmed over 14 days in two carriages on trains running between Paris and Mulhouse.