(People's Daily Online) - Beijing, October 14 - After all
the ups and downs, the film The Crossing directed by John Woo is
finally ready for release on December 2. According to Woo
himself, this is the work he is most satisfied with among all
the films he has ever directed.
This time, he was determined to shoot an epic drama-romance like
Doctor Zhivago. Woo hopes the film will inspire an emotional
reaction in its audience - especially feelings of love and
romance. "I will also add more emotion and romance to my future
films, whatever the genre." John Woo disagrees with those who
suggest that The Crossing is no more than a Chinese version of
Titanic. He thinks they are two very different films. Instead of
having one leading love story like Titanic, The Crossing
presents many different stories on the ship. Another difference
is that according to Woo, The Crossing is a hopeful film. Though
the ship sinks, all the people who survive are all full of
courage and can inspire the audience with hope.
Background to the story. The sinking of The Crossing happened on
the night of Jan. 27th, 1949. The ship, sailing from Shanghai to
Keelung in Taiwan, was carrying 1,000 people, 600 tons of steel
girders, about 1,000 boxes of documents, and 100 tons of
machinery. When it reached the area of the Zhoushan Archipelago,
The Crossing collided with a Jianyuan ship carrying 2,700 tons
of coal and other construction materials. 932 people died in the
incident, including many famous people, Kuomingtang officials,
and rich merchants. The company that owned The Crossing belonged
to Tsai Tianduo, who was the father of a famous Taiwanese TV
host Kevin Tsai.
Plot.
In 1945, Kuomingtang officer Lei Yifang (played by Huang
Xiaoming) defeats the Japanese at the Battle of Pingyuan. A
Kuomingtang signaler, Tong Daqing (played by Tong Dawei),
captures a Taiwanese doctor with the Japanese army played by
Takeshi Kaneshiro. After Japan surrenders, the three of them go
their separate ways. Lei Yifang goes back to Shanghai where he
meets Zhou Yunfen (played by Song Hye-kyo), whom he later
marries. Then the Civil War begins.
When Kaneshiro goes back to Taiwan, he finds that the girl he
loves has already gone to Japan. Tong Daqing falls in love Yu
Zhen (played by Zhang Ziyi), who is a nurse during the day but a
prostitute by night. After the Communist Party defeats the
Kuomingtang, everyone wants to get on The Crossing and leave for
Taiwan. The Crossing is their only hope. Unfortunately...
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