The film was inspired by the films of Billy Wilder and Ernst Liu Bieqian, two comedy giants of the last century, especially the latter’s "You Flee, I Escape" and "The Corner Shop", and "The Amorous History of the Red Chamber" directed by Rubin Marmolian and starring Maurice Chevalia.
When shooting the lobby in the 1960s, fluorescent lights were deliberately hung on the ceiling to distinguish it from the colors of the 1930s. "The colors in the 1930s were warm, with many actual lighting sources and beautiful skylights. The overall feeling was more open."
Director and photographer Robert Yeoman also used different frame ratios to shoot different eras. The 16:9 widescreen was used in the 1960s, the 1.37:1 standard ratio prevailing in the 1930s, and the 1.85:1 college widescreen shooting was used in the 1980s. The conversion of proportions brings different intuitive feelings to the three eras. In the 1930s, when the space was the largest, the picture was more vertical and horizontal, the space was more stretched, and the characters were able to do well. Three eras, three narrators, flashbacks, one after another.
