Although the May 1991 draft of the script is in effect the basis for the film that we know from the video, certain changes were made in the production of the film.

The plot is essentially identical, although it is tightened up for a more dramatic effect. Alex’s weak departure, abandoned at the crossroads by Jean-Louis and trying unsuccessfully to hitch a lift, is resolved by his being given a lift out of the area (and safely out of harm’s way) by his arch-enemy Jos, while Alfa watches him go, grief-stricken.  Inconsequential detail, such as the moose lamp, the joinery work, and the inn’s advertising are eliminated altogether. All the railway track scenes are cut out, as are Jean-Louis looking over Wilfred’s boat and Jeanne’s trip to the bank, thus reducing the number of locations required. The order of some scenes is juggled around slightly, and many of them are savagely “topped and tailed” in the editing process. Many of the longer speeches are condensed.

The imagery, too, is strengthened. The all-pervading presence of the dead father and his reincarnation through his son, in the script only glimpsed in the photograph, is enhanced by a much stronger visual image, the captain’s uniform. First it is worn by Alex, then it passes to Barbara who rejects it, and finally it ends up in its rightful place, comforting and protecting Jeanne. The black and white ‘fleeting visions’ of Alex as a boy (scene 11) and the girl (Alfa?) (scene 33) are comprehensively hijacked. The child at the prow remains in scene 33, but the opening and closing credits are substantial full-colour versions of the vision featuring the adult Alex and Jeanne respectively.

In the script, the house is without any guests until Mr Simon appears. Only when Alex sets the music blaring over the loudspeakers in the middle of the night is an unnamed female resident disturbed. The film introduces residents much earlier, a Madame Huot and her daughter Valérie, who are witnesses to Alex’s outrages from the moment he arrives and who leave in disgust, emphasising how abnormal the family is to outside eyes. That said, the controversial three-in-a-bed scene was rewritten for the screen so that Alex is never seen lying naked next to his sister. All the incest is conducted fully clothed with both feet on the floor! For the scene at the table where Alex caresses his mother, the actors were not allowed to rehearse. The first take is the one seen in the film as, while subsequent takes may have been technically more perfect, that was the one that best captured Andrée Lachapelle’s discomfiture. In real life she has a son who is a sailor.

The nudity content of the film is significantly increased. Barbara,  apparently relocated from Germany to a more easterly European country (her ‘home’ song is called Russian Gypsy, so that might be a clue), has her part cut considerably, but shows a bit more flesh than the script specifies. Roy’s two scripted nude scenes are augmented by the lovemaking scene with Barbara, and his encounter with his mother on the boat. With reference to the dip in the ocean, Michel Langlois may have had Roy in mind when he wrote Ressac, but he obviously didn’t know his preferences regarding underwear.

Although the film has no original soundtrack, the musical content is considerable. The recurring theme that was in Langlois’ head during the writing was Bach’s Cello Suite in D (the presence of the cello in the film being due to Roy’s own musical accomplishments). This has been replaced by a traditional Catalan melody arranged by Pablo Casals called Song of the Birds (Cant del Ocells). Jeanne’s favourite piano piece, Schubert’s Serenade, is retained, while the Mozart from the loudspeaker is replaced by Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1. Alfa makes a great job of performing an unscripted cabaret number, Blind Date, in the bar where she works, while Barbara also sings an unscripted song from her homeland, Russian Gypsy. How much these changes in the musical selection reflect the cast’s abilities or lack of them is not known, but when Alex has to play Stormy Weather, Jeanne’s piano has to be transformed into a player-piano to allow them to get through the verse.

While the descriptions of the camera shots that open and close each scene mostly tend to be translated faithfully onto the screen, some of the bits of business, particularly those that reflect Alex’s athleticism, undergo some modification. Roy’s balancing acts on the boat, for example, are variations on the theme specified in the script, and at one point he jumps right off it instead of negotiating the ladder. The antics following the painting incident go a lot farther than just the rather static laughter in the text, while Alex’s recourse to the player-piano allows him to sprint into a distinctly allegro rendition of Stormy Weather as the smoking chimney disrupts their sing-song.  Whatever his shortcomings on the piano, Roy must have exceeded Langlois’ expectations when it came to dancing, as the tango sequence is extended well beyond what is suggested in the script, despite only an hour’s coaching with actress Francine Ruel. The tango image, of course, is the one that makes it to the poster.

Finally, the quotation is changed, Cioran giving way to Cocteau, Langois’ muse when it came to guiding his cast.

Where love is not afraid to awaken his lover, friendship looks on with respect.

Yvonne Cimon remains on the dedication, Philippe Léger is dropped.