''Jade Warrior'' (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: ''Jadesoturi'', ,

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: ''Igavese armastuse sõdalane'') is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

co-produced movie. It combines elements of the

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

genre with Finnish ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and r ...

'' mythology. It was directed by Antti-Jussi Annila. 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. In Finland, the movie grossed €607,038 with 79,050 tickets sold. In 2007, ''Jade Warrior'' received the

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

for Best Costume Design (Anna Vilppunen) and Best Film Score (

Kimmo Pohjonen Kimmo Pohjonen (born August 16, 1964) is a Finnish accordionist who is known for his avant-garde and experimental work with his custom-made electrified and modified instrument. He has released nine albums of his work and has toured Europe extens ...

and

Samuli Kosminen Edea is a Finnish musical group. The Edea's song lyrics are written in an older form of the Finnish language and speak of old traditions as well. The mysterious runic symbols inscribed on the bows of Viking boats, door posts, drinking vessels, and ...

Plot

Inspired by the Finnish epic ''

The Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...

'', 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 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 In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopi ...

, 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

Tommi Eronen Tommi Johannes Eronen (born 18 September 1968) is a Finnish actor, best known for starring in the movies '' Jade Warrior'' (2006) and '' Bad Luck Love'' (2000). His performance in ''Bad Luck Love'' garnered him a Jussi Award for Best Supporting ...

– Kai/Sintai, a blacksmith and son of a blacksmith *

Markku Peltola Markku Peltola (12 July 1956 – 31 December 2007) was a Finnish actor and musician. He was born and grew up in Helsinki. He was actively involved in founding and acting with the Telakka Theater in Tampere. Peltola is best known for starring ...

– Berg, Weckström's partner *

Krista Kosonen Krista Erika Kosonen (born 28 May 1983) is a Finnish actress. She is known for her appearances in movies such as '' Jade Warrior'' (2006), ''Princess'' (2010), and the Norwegian HBO series ''Beforeigners'' (2019, 2021). She has also appeared in ...

– Ronja, ex-girlfriend of Kai *

Zhang Jingchu Zhang Jingchu (, born 2 February 1980) is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is best known for winning the China Film Media Award Best Actress award for the 2005 film ''Peacock'', which was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. Early l ...

– Pin Yu *

Elle Kull Elle Kull (born 5 January 1952 in Haapsalu) is an Estonian actress and politician. She was a member of X Riigikogu. She has been a member of Res Publica Party. Selected filmography *''Äratus'' (1989) *'' Amber Wings'' (2003) *'' Jade Warrior'' ...

– Weckström, an archaeologist * Taiseng Cheng – Demon (as Cheng Taishen) *

Hao Dang Hao or HAO may refer to: People * Hao (surname) (Chinese: ) * Hao (video gamer), Chinese professional ''Dota 2'' player * Leo Hao, Russian artist *Heather O'Reilly, Professional soccer player Places * Hao (city), or Haojing (), capital of th ...

– Cho

Reception

The reception of the ''Jade Warrior'' was critical in China. Criticism of local newspapers criticized the film as difficult to understand: it moves both in Finland and China and even between different eras. In addition, the Chinese pronunciation of Finnish actors was not considered good, but rather ridiculous.Sami Sillanpää: '' ''Jadesoturi'' sai suurellisen ja hämmentyneen vastaanoton Kiinassa.'' (in Finnish) ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'', October 28, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2021.

Reviews

*CineFantastico.co
link
*Cinematic Happenings Under Development
link
*Twitch Film

Soundtrack

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

References

External links

* *
Jade Warrior at NordicFantasy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jade Warrior (Film) 2006 films Kung fu films Wuxia films Martial arts fantasy films 2000s Finnish-language films 2000s Mandarin-language films Demons in film Films based on Finno-Ugric mythology Films about reincarnation Finnish multilingual films Chinese multilingual films 2006 multilingual films Works based on the Kalevala