The box office of the documentary "Love at the Century: Yang Lihua" continued to rise in the second week after its release, with a cumulative total exceeding 5.25 million yuan, attracting nearly 20,000 people to the theater. After the movie was released, it set off a cross-generational movie-going craze. Many families went to the theater with three generations, and some grandchildren even took their grandmas to watch the movie. After learning of the good box office performance, Yang Lihua also thanked the audience for their support: "Thank you so much for your support! I heard that many grandchildren take their grandmas to watch movies. Sure enough, 'children who watch operas will not become bad!' If you have loyalty, filial piety, justice and gratitude in your heart, our society and country will get better and better!"
Since the movie was released, it has received continuous rave reviews. From time to time in the theater, you can see grandmas taking their grandchildren and mothers watching the movie with their children. Directors Zeng Wenzhen and Chen Yalan have also recently visited various places in North, Central and South China, attending private theaters and post-screening activities, and communicating face-to-face with the audience. After watching the movie, many people recalled the time when they spent time in front of the TV with their families watching Gezi Opera in their childhood. In the past, the whole family gathered around the TV to catch up on the drama, but now it is the grown-up children who accompany their elders into the theater, making Gezi Opera once again an opportunity for the family to get together.
Feedback from the audience has also made this work go beyond a mere biographical record. Some people describe Yang Lihua as a precious treasure that has accompanied the growth of countless people. Others admire her spirit of supporting underachievers and taking care of those around her over the years. They believe that she not only affects the life aspirations of many people, but also gives everyone the strength to face difficulties and bravely pursue their dreams. Some viewers even walked into the theater specifically to watch the movie for their deceased mother or grandmother, describing it as "watching it alone, but having three emotions." Through these emotional connections across generations, the film also gives more young audiences the opportunity to get to know Gezi Opera and continue Taiwan's precious traditional performing arts.
This childhood memory also deeply affected the film production team. Ke Zhihao, who won the gold medal for the soundtrack, and Wu Zhenyu, who was responsible for the post-production sound, also grew up with Gezi Opera. For them, Yang Lihua is not only a legend in the documentary, but also a familiar figure in their growth. This time, through the soundtrack and sound design, the two reorganized their own memories of the era, bringing the familiar melodies and sound details of the whole family in front of the TV back to the big screen, allowing the audience to once again experience the years of waiting for Gezi's drama together.
The film also contains many precious scenes of Yang Lihua off stage, including one where she gave a speech at an opera school. When all the teachers and students in the school learned that the singer and opera king had personally visited, the scene was filled with excitement. After watching the students' performance, Yang Lihua personally went on stage to provide guidance and demonstrated the gun-turning movements on the spot. Her neat skills made the teachers and students exclaim in surprise. This unrehearsed scene also allowed the audience to see that the 82-year-old Yang Lihua is still young and her stage charm has not diminished at all.
"Love at the First Century: Yang Lihua" is now showing in Taiwan. In addition, "Love at the First Century: Yang Lihua: Special Exhibition of Gezi Opera" hosted by the National Center for Traditional Arts will be on display at the Yilan Chuanyi Park Exhibition Hall from now until March 1 next year (2027). The public can use the paper movie ticket stubs of "Century Love - Yang Lihua" to purchase ordinary tickets on-site at Yilan Chuanyi Park. Each ticket can be discounted at 50 yuan. Each ticket stub can be used as a discount for 1 ticket. The discount is limited to 200 tickets. The redemption period is until December 31 this year.
