The film contains no LGBTQ+ characters or explorations of non-heteronormative identities. The narrative focuses exclusively on the protagonist's central romantic and marital tensions.

Female characters like Consuelo possess significant agency and pass the Bechdel test. The film disrupts traditional hierarchies by centering on the male protagonist's emotional instability rather than a stable patriarch.

The cast is predominantly white and Anglo-European, reflecting its 1930s setting. While the Sahara serves as a backdrop, the story remains focused on the European intelligentsia.

The film uses a postmodern structure to prioritize subjective experience over objective morality. It challenges traditionalist frameworks by framing the protagonist's abandonment of social norms as a pursuit of spiritual liberation.

No overt physical disabilities are portrayed. The film instead explores the protagonist's psychological fragmentation and loneliness as central elements of his identity.