Seems a bit gay . . .

Not sure it's a legit reading, but there were moments at the base of the sheltering tree that seemed to suggest the two guys were falling in love a little bit, or at least that the Australian dude was maybe falling for the Chinese dude in an unspoken way. When they first take shelter in the hollow at the base of the tree, there's a divider separating them somewhat. The next time they take shelter there, they're sort of forced into it by an approaching Japanese patrol, and they both end up on the same side of the divider, with the Aussie guy in front of the Chinese guy presumably to offer protection and be a lookout. But then the Aussie slowly leans back into the shadows of the hollow and we're treated to several lovingly-shot closeups of trembling lips of both men, back and forth, and then it cuts to the Aussie sitting outside the tree, just outside of his half of the hollow, partially watching the Chinese guy sleep. Obviously nothing sexual happened, but the contemplative demeanor of the Aussie seems suggestive. This is followed by another scene later on where the Aussie leans over the divider a bit, nearly resting his chin on it, and just stares at the Chinese guy almost face to face while he sleeps. I suppose it could also be read as just a deep trust forming between two people from completely different cultures who have no one else to help them and little hope of survival, but it still lends itself to being interpreted as something more romantic because of the way it was filmed. I'm not gay, nor do I know anything about 'gay' cinema, and I know this one isn't particularly classified that way, but there's something deliberate about those sequences that comes off as more than just wartime male bonding.