The film lacks visible evidence of LGBTQ+ characters or non-heteronormative identities. The narrative focuses on wartime survival and racial identity rather than queer themes.

The story centers on a male soldier and his interactions with villagers. There is little detail regarding the specific agency or intellect of female characters.

By centering a Senegalese rifleman in occupied France, the film disrupts Eurocentric war tropes. It provides significant agency to a Black protagonist in a historically marginalized setting.

The film critiques colonial hierarchies by focusing on a colonial subject's perspective. It shifts the narrative from state patriotism to a nuanced story of individual survival.

There is no mention of characters navigating physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the narrative.