A Tale of Three Cities, starring Tang Wei, reveals a romance in the 1940s China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

At a time when Chinese couldn't say if they'd live to see the next day, love was perhaps the only thing that kept them going, she adds.

Tang expresses admiration for the deep passion her role displays. She describes the film as a "fairy tale during wartime".

Timmy Yip Kam-tim, the film's cinematographer, who is famed for the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, says the production shows rare strength.

"I've made many movies featuring World War II events. But A Tale of Three Cities is particular with the lead characters' optimism. They lived during the war but tried not to be influenced by it, which makes the film powerful," he said at a Beijing media event on Sunday.

With an estimated 80 million yuan ($12.5 million) budget, Cheung took nearly 10 years to convince investors. Then, Huayi Brothers, one of the country's largest film and TV program studios, became its main producer.

When asked about the market expectation, Wang Zhonglei, president and co-founder of Huayi, says it is difficult to promote such an art-house title.

"But the script attracted me. After discussion with Shi Nan-sun, a veteran Hong Kong film producer, on its commercial prospects, we decided to invest in it," he said at the media event.

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