A scene from the film Only Cloud Knows, which tells of the bittersweet romance between a couple of Chinese expatriates in New Zealand, with the husband played by actor Huang Xuan and wife by actress Yang Caiyu. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Back then, most people were reluctant to talk about romance, but Zhang soon asked Feng for advice after confessing to falling in love with Luo at first sight on a bus ride.

The couple later married and emigrated to Canada. Zhang returned to Beijing in 2003 to work on Feng's film, and stayed for over a decade. Unfortunately, Luo was later diagnosed with cancer and passed away in Toronto in 2017.

Widely regarded as a front-runner who helped to propel the Chinese film industry with his stylish comedy blockbusters like The Dream Factory (1997) and Cellphone (2003), Feng in recent years has adopted a more personal and nostalgic approach as seen in movies like Youth.

Feng was moved when Zhang opened up about his feelings for his late wife, especially as he had just happened to catch iconic Japanese actor Ken Takakura's last film Dearest-a story about a retired prison warden who fulfills his dead wife's last wish-which also tugged his heartstrings.

All these elements helped give rise to Only Cloud Knows, his latest movie currently on release in China, New Zealand, Australia, North America and the United Kingdom.

Penned by novelist-turned-scriptwriter Zhang Ling, whose 2009 novel Aftershock was adapted by Feng into a disaster flick of the same name in 2010, Only Cloud Knows by contrast has a narrative that unfolds at a much slower pace.