Perret wanted to set his film in the environments chosen by the novelist, so he decided to shoot in Germany, in the castles which arose from the wild imagination of Louis II of Bavaria. On this occasion, the director honed his conception of “international cinema”, claiming a need for strong cultural roots: “I’m not one of those for whom art has no homeland” – wrote Perret. “I believe that every production must have its own territorial references, and that to interpret a work in the cinema you must first of all put it in the setting desired by its creator”. The decision to shoot in Germany would prove laden with consequences. Initially suspected of making an anti-German propaganda film, the production would then have to deal with numerous problems: adverse weather conditions which hindered shooting in outside locations, then the injuries and sickness that hit the leading actors one after the other. However, 117 days of shooting and repeated postponing of the release date notwithstanding, Kœnigsmark went on to attain great success.

Bernard Bastide, in “Cinegrafie”, n. 15, 2002