It is based on the tumultuous love affair between two French literary icons of the 19th century, novelist George Sand (Juliette Binoche) and poet Alfred de Musset (Benoît Magimel).

[2] Musset's account of the affair, in his book La Confession d'un Enfant du Siècle, was Kurys' starting point for her screenplay.

The original music, composed by Luis Bacalov, was recorded in January 1999 by the Rome Symphony Orchestra, and featured Fábio Zanon on guitar and Leonid Kuzmin on piano.

Les Enfants du Siècle made its world premiere out of competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, before being released in French theatres on September 22, 1999.

Two books were published in conjunction with the film: Les Enfants du Siecle (ISBN 202037109X), a novelization of the screenplay by François-Olivier Rousseau; and Sand & Musset (ISBN 2732425575), a large format coffee-table book exploring the history of Sand and Musset and the production of the film, co-written by Jean-Pierre Guéno, Roselyne de Ayala, and Diane Kurys, with lavish illustrations by Maxime Rebiere.