The film engages deeply with queer theory by exploring the fluidity of desire. It emphasizes non-binary attractions and deconstructs fixed sexual identities as fundamental to the characters' journeys.

Téchiné disrupts traditional hierarchies by centering the emotional and sexual agency of the female protagonist. Women are portrayed as architects of their own destinies rather than submissive tropes.

The narrative introduces ethnic complexity through Saïd, a young Arab character central to the plot's negotiations. It uses a post-colonial lens to critique Mediterranean identities and borders.

The film eschews singular religious moralities in favor of situational ethics. It focuses on the migrant experience and the outsider status of characters to critique Western institutional borders.

There is no significant evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities driving the plot. The narrative focuses on socioeconomic and identity-based struggles instead.