Archy, in particular, is also driven by the desire to prove that he is indeed a man. Knowing that his metamorphosis would be complete only after he's accepted into the military force, Archy sets his mind on doing just that. This theme forms a motif throughout the picture that is seen clearly when Frank attempts to give Archy a fake beard. His uncle, too, helps shape Archy's destiny in regards to his decision to enlist since he himself joined the army and experienced adventure in foreign lands while officially under-age. The motif is continued in the uncle's reading of Kipling's The Jungle Book in which he describes Mowgli's transformation into a man.
The promise of adventure in far-off, exotic lands is also indicated throughout the film. Perhaps the most memorable image of this is the wheeling in of a giant wooden horse in order to lure people into enlisting in the light horse brigade. Like the Trojan horse from Greek mythology, this "gift" is seen as a sign of adventure, wealth (of spirit) and the grand nature of war. Behind its confident façade, however, is a trap. Just as the city of Troy was destroyed after its citizens embraced the Trojan horse, its reappearance in Western Australia can be seen as powerful foreshadow of the tragic fate that will meet these men. Interestingly, though, the men are still entranced by the glory of war as their boats slowly drifted in towards a hillside of Gallipoli, lit up like a Christmas tree.
In spending the greater part of the film exploring the relationships between Archy, Frank and Frank's friends, Weir has created an intimate and personal essay that deals with the concept of war and what drives men towards war, while remaining a powerful testament against war. Through his lengthy lead-in to the final conflict, a deep sense of connection and mateship is forged between the major characters and the audience, making the film's tragic conclusion all the more affecting.
In contrasting the isolated and personal elements of Australia with the hard-edged reality of war in Gallipoli, Weir utilised a number of cinematic techniques. Most notably, the majority of the Australian scenes are shot with a tighter lens than those in Gallipoli, indicating that once the men found their way to war, they became little more than numbers — human ammunition. He also draws visual comparisons between the sparse, lifeless deserts of Australia and those of Egypt and, in doing so, suggests that these men's struggle is thoughtless and insignificant in the greater scheme of things. The pyramids, "man's first attempt to beat death," have witnessed men coming and going. They stood through the Napoleonic wars and will stand through the "war to end all wars." This theme, and the overbearing nature of their immortal structure, can be linked to Weir's earlier work on Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975).
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