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Jade Warrior (film)

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Jade Warrior
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAntti-Jussi Annila
Written byAntti-Jussi Annila
Petri Jokiranta
Iiro Küttner (story)
Produced byPetri Jokiranta
Tero Kaukomaa
Margus Õunapuu
Peter Loehr
San Fu Maltha
StarringTommi Eronen
Zhang Jingchu
Krista Kosonen
Markku Peltola
CinematographyHenri Blomberg
Edited byIikka Hesse
Music bySamuli Kosminen
Kimmo Pohjonen
Distributed byBlind Spot Pictures
Release dates
  • 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
CountriesFinland
China
Estonia
Netherlands
LanguagesFinnish
Mandarin
Budget€2.5 million[1]

Jade Warrior (Finnish: Jadesoturi, Chinese: 玉战士; pinyin: Yù zhànshì) 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.

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]

In 2007, Jade Warrior received the Jussi Award for Best Costume Design (Anna Vilppunen) and Best Film Score (Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen).[4]

Plot

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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

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Reception

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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.[5]

Reviews

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Soundtrack

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Jade Warrior
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released
  • 11 October 2006 (2006-10-11)
[6]
Recorded2005–2006
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.[6]

# Title Artist(s)
01. "Fate" (movie version) Bleak feat. Ana Johnsson and Kimmo Pohjonen 4:22
02. "Under the Rose" HIM 4:49
03. "Romeo" Sunrise Avenue 4:03
04. "Sorry Go 'Round" Poets of the Fall 3:40
05. "New Day" Deep Insight 3:38
06. "Scream" Dame 3:00
07. "Crossword" Bleak 3:40
08. "Days of Summer" Ana Johnsson 3:10
09. "Wear Out the Soles" Brightboy 2:57
10. "Grace" The Crash 3:46
11. "Savior" Christel Sundberg 4:22
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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ "Jussi-voittajat 2000–2009". Jussit.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. ^ Sami Sillanpää: Jadesoturi sai suurellisen ja hämmentyneen vastaanoton Kiinassa. (in Finnish) Helsingin Sanomat, October 28, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Jade Warrior — soundtrack". MTV3 store. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008.
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