Why is "The Thief of Time" so popular with the audience?

Hong Kong films have been in decline for many years. The movie stars who were very popular back then have either retired or gone north to film some top-notch TV series. The first thing I watched was a movie from ten years ago. After watching it for a few seconds, I threw up. I watched "Thieves of Time" again with my old eyes dizzy. Although Laughing Aunt Sandra Ng has become thinner and prettier, I can still recognize her at a glance. On the other hand, it took me a while to realize that the gigolo Simon Yam was famous all over the world back then. The narrative style of "Thieves of Time" gave me a very familiar feeling. The story of "Brothers and Brothers" starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Tony Leung Ka-fai had this narrative style. The slightly quiet streets and familiar neighbors present a picture of the Hong Kong market in the 1960s and 1970s. Very bland dialogue, very bland story. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hong Kong was in a period of chaos, with corruption from top to bottom in government agencies and blatant plunder by public institutions. The antagonism between rich and poor. The two extreme left and right riots made the citizens at the bottom even more miserable.