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Directors Brian Crano and David Joseph Craig were in Italy on a 10th anniversary trip when their car got stuck in a ditch during a rainstorm. They ended up at a woman’s house and stayed up eating and drinking with them for hours, not understanding a thing they said.

“We did think in the moment we could end up in their cellar,� Craig says.

When the two shared the story with producer Joel Edgerton, he said, “You need to write this.�

From that, “I Don't Understand You� was born. Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells play the couple; “extenuating circumstances� make the film the nightmare they had envisioned.

“We kind of knew where we wanted it to go,� Craig says. “It just keeps going further and further down a rabbit hole and then, sometimes, we edit ourselves.�

To play Crano and Craig, the two looked for “the funniest, most charming people and then you assume that’s what you’re like,� Crano says.

“I don’t think we could have gotten anyone better,� Craig says. “I’ll recast it in my head every once in a while and there’s no one who tops who we got. They’ve worked together for a very long time, so them being on screen for 90% of the movie together is ideal.�

Because he has directed and produced a number of projects, Kroll would seem eager to make suggestions. But, he says, “it’s so nice not being in charge. (Crano and Craig) had such a clear vision for what it was and it what it could be ... they were just great to be collaborative with the whole time. It was nice to finish shooting and go home and not to have to be worried about the location or anything.�

Still, Rannells says, Kroll did give him “face readings.� “He’d be like, ‘What are you doing with your face? You should do more ...’ He would really guide me.�

While “I Don’t Understand You� doesn’t put some Italians in the best light, those who’ve seen it loved it because “it was about Americans who were in over their head, which they really appreciated,� Crano says.

Subtitles, Craig says, had to be used sparingly, so they wouldn’t detract from the story, just for the sake of a joke.

Although the two thought shooting in Italy would give them time to tour the country, “none of that happens,� Crano says. “You’re just working constantly. The people are really lovely and the food was great.�

Now, of course, the two pay attention to situations and lines they hear in everyday life. “As filmmakers, you’re always like, ‘Oh, that’s the beginning of a movie,’� Craig says. “Our Notes app is full of one-liners that we’ll look back and be like, ‘Where did we hear that?’�

Like the couple in the film, Craig and Crano were in the process of adopting a child when they took the 10th anniversary trip to Italy. Now 5, their son appears at the end of the movie and, yes, he has seen the film.

“We brought him in (at the end of the screening) to watch himself on a giant screen,� Craig says. “And he just pointed at the screen and goes, ‘Look at me!’�

Adds Crano: “Unfortunately, he got asked to do a school play and he’s like, ‘Just movies, please.’�