The Crossing

The Crossing

Year: 2015

Runtime: 55 mins

Language: English

Director: George Kurian

Documentary

This film offers a raw and intimate portrayal of Syrian refugees risking everything to reach Europe. They embark on a dangerous journey across land and sea aboard a dilapidated fishing boat guided by smugglers. Facing immense hardship, the refugees ultimately arrive in Europe, where they confront complex regulations and the challenges of rebuilding their lives in unfamiliar surroundings. The story explores the resilience of the human spirit and the profound desire for safety and a chance at a new beginning.

Bittersweet
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Mixed pacing
Complex story

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – The Crossing (2015)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Crossing (2015). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1930s–1949

The story begins in the late 1930s during the Sino-Japanese War in Manchuria and extends through the late 1940s Chinese Civil War. It moves from frontline battles to life on the home front in Shanghai and into postwar Taiwan, illustrating shifting loyalties and survival under pressure. The period’s upheaval shapes personal destinies, memory, and the meaning of nation.

Location

Manchuria, Shanghai, Taiwan

The narrative unfolds across Manchuria during World War II, then shifts to Shanghai and Taiwan as the conflict transitions from foreign invasion to civil strife. The settings span frontline camps, hospitals, docking ports, and bustling urban centers, reflecting the era's upheaval. These places anchor the characters' loyalties, separations, and memories across generations.

🌍 War zones 🗺️ East Asia 🏝️ Island settings

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 08:00

Main Characters – The Crossing (2015)

Meet the key characters of The Crossing (2015), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Lei Yifang (Huang Xiaoming)

A seasoned Nationalist major general who leads decisive attacks in Manchuria and later faces the consequences of wartime decisions. He rises to lieutenant general after a victor’s charge, then endures the toll of command as his army battles within China and against its own factions. His loyalty to his troops, his wife Zhou Yunfen, and the memory of his experiences drives the plot, culminating in a heroic yet tragic final stand.

⚔️ Military 🎖️ Leadership

Yen Zekun (Takeshi Kaneshiro)

An ethnic Chinese field medic conscripted into the Japanese army who is captured and sent to a POW camp. He navigates love across colonial lines with Masako, and later must adapt to life in Taiwan after the war. His medical skill and quiet perseverance anchor many survival moments, until his death aboard the sinking lifeboat after being stabbed during the struggle, leaving a vision of Masako.

💊 Medical 🛡️ Loyalty

Yu Zhen (Zhang Ziyi)

A poor, illiterate young woman who becomes an orderly, then prostitution to survive, in hopes of locating her missing lover. Her resilience enables her to endure hardship on the Shanghai home front and to reunite with Tong and family later in the narrative.

💪 Resilience 🧭 Hope 🌆 Shanghai

Zhou Yunfen (Song Hye-kyo)

A wealthy debutante who marries Lei and later faces displacement as war and factionalism reshape Shanghai and Taiwan. She discovers Masako’s diary and uses Masako’s sheet music as inspiration for a song to honor her husband, and she confronts the personal cost of a life lived between two lands.

💍 Wealth 🕯️ Romance

Tong Daqing

A signal corps sergeant whose practical wit keeps his unit connected via radio and who becomes entangled in a surrogate family through Yu’s staged marriage photo. He proves relentlessly loyal to Lei and plays a pivotal role in passing along crucial diaries that preserve the general’s memory.

🪖 Soldier 🧭 Loyalty

Masako (Masami Nagasawa)

A Japanese artist and Yen’s lover whose diary and memories anchor the emotional thread of the story. Her letters reveal a romance across colonial divides and her early death adds a bittersweet sadness that echoes through the later events.

💔 Forbidden Love 🗺️ Colonial History

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 08:00

Major Themes – The Crossing (2015)

Explore the central themes of The Crossing (2015), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

⚔️ War and Loyalty

The narrative pits duty against personal bonds, showing how commanders, soldiers, and lovers navigate orders and affection under extreme pressure. Lei Yifang's leadership is tested by brutal campaigns and the cost paid by his troops, while Tong's loyalty anchors his actions. Memory and sacrifice emerge as acts of fidelity, preserved in diaries and photographs. The Huaihai Campaign and frontline fights crystallize how war reshapes loyalties and identities.

📜 Memory and Longing

Letters, diaries, and photos bind characters across deserts of time and distance, making memory a lifeline. Masako's diary and the photograph of a 'family' drive Zhou, Yen, and Tong to reinterpret love and home. Yen's memories of Masako and Yu Zhen's hope to reunite with her missing lover push the story beyond concrete events. The diary becomes a bridge between generations and across island borders.

🗺️ Identity and Borders

The film threads together Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese identities, revealing how colonial histories shape desire, art, and loyalty. Masako's status as a colonizer's lover and Yen's family story illuminate contested belonging on occupied and postwar lands. The relocation from Manchuria to Taiwan intensifies questions of homeland and memory. Across these shifts, personal relationships test national loyalties and redefine what it means to belong.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 08:00

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Humanitarian Documentaries About Displacement Like The Crossing

Intimate documentaries following individuals forced to flee and rebuild their lives.Explore more movies like The Crossing that offer intimate, firsthand accounts of refugee experiences. These documentaries share a similar focus on survival, the harsh realities of migration, and the bittersweet hope of building a new life, often with a heavy emotional weight.

grimhopefulresilientsombertensedocumentaryintimateurgent

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows individuals or groups as they are forced from their homes, endure a dangerous journey, and navigate the complex challenges of assimilation or survival in a new place. The journey is often the central focus, highlighting both external obstacles and internal emotional struggles.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together because they share a documentary approach to a pressing global issue, prioritizing real human stories over sensationalism. They possess a similar tone of profound gravity, high intensity from life-or-death stakes, and a focus on resilience amidst immense hardship.

Emotionally Heavy Historical Epics Like The Crossing

Sweeping stories where survival is a victory, but the cost of war is profound.If you were moved by the scale and emotional depth of The Crossing, discover other movies with a similar epic feel. These films often deal with wartime survival, personal sacrifice, and displacement, delivering a powerful, complex, and bittersweet viewing experience.

epicmelancholicsomberresilientgrimhistoricaltensehopeful

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread often weave together multiple character perspectives against a backdrop of large-scale conflict or disaster. The plot moves between chaotic, high-intensity survival sequences and slower, more intimate moments that explore memory, love, and loss, culminating in an ending that acknowledges survival but mourns what was lost.

Why These Movies?

These movies share a specific emotional mix: they are epic in scope yet intimately devastating. They are united by a high emotional weight, complex narratives, a bittersweet tone that balances hope with tragedy, and a variable pacing that shifts from intense action to somber reflection.

Unlock the Full Story of The Crossing

Don't stop at just watching — explore The Crossing in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what The Crossing is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

The Crossing Summary

Read a complete plot summary of The Crossing, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

The Crossing Summary

The Crossing Timeline

Track the full timeline of The Crossing with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The Crossing Timeline

The Crossing Spoiler-Free Summary

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The Crossing Spoiler-Free Summary

More About The Crossing

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The Crossing (2015) Plot Summary & Movie Recap

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