The film operates within a strictly heteronormative framework. The narrative focuses on platonic social bonds between adolescent boys, with no depictions of non-cisnormative identities.

The story is centered on a male-dominated boarding school environment. While female agency is largely peripheral, Jeanne serves as a vital emotional and moral pivot.

The film provides a profound exploration of ethnic identity through the lens of the Holocaust. It centers on the persecution of a Jewish student within a French institution.

The narrative critiques traditional Western institutions like the Catholic Church and Vichy government. It portrays these structures as complicit or ineffective against systemic oppression.

There are no prominent depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities used as central narrative elements in this work.