Eddie Peng almost drowned while filming

Chinese movie The Rescue was meant to be released during the Chinese New Year season this year, but was put on hold because of Covid-19.

It finally made it to the cinemas this month and opens here today.

And the action-packed movie - about members of the China Rescue and Salvage team which conducts life-saving missions in Chinese waters - has now taken on a new meaning for its Taiwanese star Eddie Peng.

The 38-year-old actor says in a voice message to The Straits Times: "It was originally a film about rescue missions, but now it really feels like a story about nameless front-line heroes. They've sacrificed more than anyone this year and are the real heroes protecting the world daily."

Hong Kong director Dante Lam, who has worked with Peng multiple times on films such as sports dramas Unbeatable (2013) and To The Fore (2015), as well as crime flick Operation Mekong (2016), shares Peng's sentiments .

In a separate interview, the 56-year-old says: "It definitely feels more meaningful now, like an ode to first responders."

Plans to promote the film were disrupted by Covid-19, which plagued China in the earlier part of the year.

When they flew to Beijing for the premiere this month, Lam and Peng were put up in neighbouring rooms to serve their 14-day quarantine.

"I could hear him exercising, he brought lots of equipment," says Lam.

Like all of his previous films with Peng, The Rescue was physically demanding to shoot, requiring a six-month training period in which Peng mastered the ability to hold his breath underwater for three minutes.

The actor says that while movie shoots are never easy, The Rescue is the first one where he "felt fear".

He did not give details, but Lam reveals that Peng almost drowned while shooting a scene in the water, after a wire on his body became trapped in a machine used to generate large waves.

"He was pulled 6m into the water. Of course we had responders on hand but, by the time they got to him, he had drunk some water," Lam recalls.

"Thankfully he was really calm and did not panic and that helped him to stay safe."

That was hardly the only harrowing experience on the set.

Chinese actor Wang Yanlin also briefly lost his hearing due to a drastic difference in ear pressure after filming scenes underwater and high in the air.

Lam says: "I sent him to the best doctors in Hong Kong. I was so scared he would have some permanent damage, but thank goodness he recovered."

Peng says he has always enjoyed challenging himself and pushing his body to its limits for Lam's films. It is a trait shared by the character he plays - a front-line rescuer.

"We're both people who love our jobs very much. I love acting and give it my all while (my character) loves the adrenaline rush of going on missions and is willing to put his life on the line for others," he says.

The tough training and stunts aside, Peng says what also stood out for him was learning about the lives of real people on the China Rescue and Salvage team.

He adds: "A lot of the time, missions simply cannot be completed because of the natural circumstances. Sometimes, it's just not possible to rescue everybody. That mental challenge is a daily reality for them."

The Rescue opened against competition from Wonder Woman 1984, which was also released this month. But so far, it is beating the Hollywood blockbuster in China, where the latter has reported disappointing box-office takings.

Lam says: "They're both films about heroes. Wonder Woman 1984 is about a fictional heroine, while ours is about real-life everyday heroes."