Song Hye Kyo's new film "The Crossing" has been described as the Chinese version of "Titanic." The first installment of the two-part film was released in Beijing on Dec. 2, 2014 and on opening day set a box office record. The film opened on Christmas Day in Hong Kong and will premiere in Korea in March.

The second half of the film is due to open in Beijing in May 2015.

Acclaimed filmmaker John Woo spent four years making "The Crossing," which cost $42 million. Wang Hui Ling, who wrote "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," wrote the film's screenplay.

The film is not just being compared to "Titanic," starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslow, because of its epic scope and enthusiastic reception. "The Crossing" also focuses on the sinking of a luxury passenger liner. The liner Taiping, which traveled between China and Taiwan, sank in January 1949. It's the middle of the Chinese revolution and many people were fleeing to Taiwan. It was one of the last lifeboats to escape China's communist rule. After the liner collided with a cargo ship, more than 1,500 passengers and crewmembers died. Only about 50 of the passengers survived.

But the story spans a half-century, revolving around the experiences of three couples, as they face disaster, love and war.

The cast includes actors from Korea, China and Japan. Song Hye Kyo's co-stars include Huang Xiao Ming, Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tong Dawei and Masami Nagasawa.

"The Crossing" is Song Hye Kyo's third Chinese film. She previously appeared in "the Grandmaster" and "Queens." She worked hard to learn Mandarin for the role but her lines are dubbed, as is usually the case when Korean actors appear in Chinese films or dramas.

"Speaking in Chinese was especially hard for me," she said at the film's preview.

Still, John Woo praised her efforts. He said, "Song Hye Kyo is always prepared to act, so she only makes a few mistakes."

In "The Crossing" Song Hye Kyo plays Yunfen, a wealthy debutante. A decorated general played by Huang Xiao Ming courts her and their courtship demonstrates the luxurious lives of the era's privileged. Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a drafted Taiwanese medic who dreams of being reunited with his Japanese sweetheart, played by Masami Nagasawa. Tong Dawei is a private who falls for a woman, played by Zhang Ziyi. He dreams about her when they were parted but all she can think about is how to become a passenger on the luxury liner.

A review in Variety described the film as being "crisscrossed with romantic trials and survival stories."