Johnston was inspired to write the screenplay based upon the stories of his father who was an instructor and bomber pilot in the war, and his mother's experiences as a young woman on the home front.

The young lovers also have a kinship with another unlikely pairing, Betsy (Wanda Cannon), a bootlegging charmer who sells more than alcohol and also has a husband away in the army and two children to look after, and Zeek Williams (Scott Kraft), the flying station's chief flight instructor from Chicago.

More devastating is the death of Lill's brother, Dennis (Kelly Proctor) that leads her to a fateful decision to end their relationship, and her sister to cancel wedding plans.

[Note 1] As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):[4] Director Aaron Kim Johnston had a serendipitous moment in selecting the lead actor.

Russell Crowe's name was on the top of a list and although he had not been acting long, the initial reviews of his earlier films were promising, with a handful of awards for his roles as both supporting and lead actor.

The museum's aircraft are mainly static and although some were flight-ready, refurbishing and obtaining insurance was required to fly some of the types, including the de Havilland Tiger Moth and North American Harvard trainers, featured in key aerial scenes.

[7] Praised for its cinematography, music (the strains of Pachelbel's Canon begins and ends the film) and faithful depiction of the era, the romantic subplots in For the Moment were nonetheless seen as laboured or clumsy.

"[13] Stephen Holden's review in The New York Times identified the same dichotomy in describing the film as "better at portraying the intimacy of families and lovers than at telling a story ... (although) 'For the Moment' satisfies a sweet tooth with such calm and intelligent deliberation that you won't leave feeling as though you have just indulged in a guilty pleasure.

A later Canadian DVD version provided a small number of special features including behind-the-scenes photographs and biographies/filmographies on Aaron Kim Johnson, Christianne Hirt and Russell Crowe.