"They used to say there were no female eels. Only males. The females carry their eggs 2000 kilometers or more, way down south. They only lay when the salinity's right. 2000 kilometers! That's as far as the equator. The males follow behind. Most of 'em die right there. The tiny fry take up to six months to return to Japan. Most of 'em die on the way back. The ocean's full of dead fry."--Takada (Makoto Sato) to Yamashita (Koji Yakusho)

"Your mother laid her eggs near the equator. Anonymous sperm fertilized them to life. Nobody knows your father. But you're still a fantastic eel."--Yamashita to the eel

"He listens to what I say. He doesn't say what I don't want to hear."--Yamashita explaining to Reverend Nakajima (Fujio Tokita) why he likes his eel

Aside from Shohei Imamura, the other two directors who have won the Palme d'Or twice are Francis Ford Coppola and Emir Kusturica.

The Japanese believe the eel can give one stamina. There is an annual eel eating festival called doyo-no-ushi.

At the beginning of the 21th century, there still remains many mysteries about the eel. It has been difficult to get eels to reproduce in captivity and raise the young to adult size. The growing demand for eel as food has sent some prices skyrocketing.

Co-screenwriter Daisuke Tengan is Imamura's son.