Jade Warrior (film)

Jade Warrior (Finnish: Jadesoturi, Chinese: 玉战士; pinyin: Yù zhànshì, Estonian: Igavese armastuse sõdalane) is a Finnish-Chinese co-produced movie. It combines elements of the wuxia genre with Finnish Kalevala mythology.[1] It was directed by Antti-Jussi Annila.

Jade Warrior
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAntti-Jussi Annila
Produced byPetri Jokiranta
Tero Kaukomaa
Margus Õunapuu
Peter Loehr
San Fu Maltha
Written byAntti-Jussi Annila
Petri Jokiranta
Iiro Küttner (story)
StarringTommi Eronen
Zhang Jingchu
Krista Kosonen
Markku Peltola
Music bySamuli Kosminen
Kimmo Pohjonen
CinematographyHenri Blomberg
Edited byIikka Hesse
Distributed byBlind Spot Pictures
Release date
  • 13 October 2006 (2006-10-13) (Finland)
  • 20 October 2006 (2006-10-20) (Estonia)
  • 24 October 2006 (2006-10-24) (China)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryFinland
China
Estonia
Netherlands
LanguageFinnish
Mandarin
Budget€2.5 million[1]

The movie opened in Finland on 13 October 2006 with 40 copies. The film debuted at #2, right after The Devil Wears Prada. It opened in China on 24 October with 150 copies in 70 cities. Jade Warrior is the first Finnish movie to be released in movie theaters in China. In addition to China, the movie's international distribution rights have been sold to more than 30 countries.[2] In Finland, the movie grossed €607,038 with 79,050 tickets sold.[3]

Plot

Inspired by the Finnish epic The Kalevala, the story opens with a down-on-his luck novice blacksmith named Kai whose girlfriend, Ronja, leaves him. Ronja tries to dispose of his collection of Asian artifacts and what appears to be an urn full of ashes at an antique dealer. The ashes are his burned up hair and nail clippings, used by blacksmiths to prevent rust. This sets off a mythical series of events that holds Ronja back from leaving town. The ashes open a mythical chest, which causes Kai to remember a past life where he was a half-Chinese half-Finnish warrior named Sintai, fated to battle a demon in ancient China, threatening to enslave all of humankind.

Sintai is fated to be rewarded with Nirvana upon dying in that lifetime if he killed the demon. Sintai is abetted—and then ultimately disheartened—by a female warrior named Pin Yu, who has captured his heart. Shortly after, Pin Yu unexpectedly finds her lost lover, Cho, who is Sintai's friend. Upon realizing this, Sintai uses a magical chest to imprison the demon and escape Nirvana. He then commits suicide to be reborn as Kai, who is being instructed by the now freed demon to build the Sampo, an item that will open the gates to hell. Kai's remembering and the sampo building are transposed to each other. Finally, Kai realizes what he has done and knows his complete past life and, with Pin Yu now reincarnated as Ronja and potentially returned to his side, he decides to fulfill his original quest and kill the demon.

Cast

Reviews

  • CineFantastico.com link (in Spanish)
  • Cinematic Happenings Under Development link (in English)
  • Twitch Films link (in English)

Soundtrack

Jade Warrior
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released
  • 11 October 2006 (2006-10-11)
[4]
Recorded20052006
GenreSoundtrack
LabelBonnier Amigo Music Finland
Singles from Jade Warrior
  1. "Fate"
    Released: 2006
  2. "Sorry Go 'Round"
    Released: 2006

According to the MTV3 website, the soundtrack was released on 11 October 2006.[4]

#TitleArtist(s)
01."Fate" (movie version)Bleak feat. Ana Johnsson and Kimmo Pohjonen4:22
02."Under the Rose"HIM4:49
03."Romeo"Sunrise Avenue4:03
04."Sorry Go 'Round"Poets of the Fall3:40
05."New Day"Deep Insight3:38
06."Scream"Dame3:00
07."Crossword"Bleak3:40
08."Days of Summer"Ana Johnsson3:10
09."Wear Out the Soles"Brightboy2:57
10."Grace"The Crash3:46
11."Savior"Christel Sundberg4:22
12."Routa"Kimmo Pohjonen/Samuli Kosminen Kluster
13."Unia"Kimmo Pohjonen/Samuli Kosminen Kluster
14."Kalvaja"Kimmo Pohjonen/Samuli Kosminen Kluster
15."Vala"Kimmo Pohjonen/Samuli Kosminen Kluster

References

  1. Laity, K. A. (April 2007). "Fun With Sledgehammers or "In Search of the Sampo"". Up Against the Wall. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007.
  2. Aamulehti 10.10.2006, sivu B20
  3. "Box Office / Business". Jadesoturi (2006). IMDB. Archived from the original on 18 March 2007.
  4. "Jade Warrior soundtrack". MTV3 store. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008.
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