| Jade Warrior | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Antti-Jussi Annila |
| Produced by | Petri Jokiranta Tero Kaukomaa Jonah Greenberg |
| Written by | Antti-Jussi Annila Petri Jokiranta Iiro Küttner (story) |
| Starring | Tommi Eronen Zhang Jingchu Krista Kosonen Markku Peltola |
| Music by | Samuli Kosminen Kimmo Pohjonen |
| Cinematography | Henri Blomberg |
| Editing by | Iikka Hesse |
| Distributed by | Blind Spot Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 13, 2006 (Finland) October 24, 2006 (China) October 20, 2006 (Estonia) |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Finland China Estonia Netherlands |
| Language | Finnish, Mandarin |
| Budget | €2,7 million |
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. It was directed by Antti-Jussi Annila.
The movie opened in Finland on October 13, 2006 with 40 copies. The film debuted at #2, right after The Devil Wears Prada. It opened in China on October 24 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.[1] In Finland the movie grossed €607,038 with 79,050 tickets sold.[2]
Contents |
Inspired by the Finnish epic The Kalevala, the story opens with a down-on-his luck novice blacksmith name 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 woman 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.
| Jade Warrior | ||||||||||
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| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | ||||||||||
| Released | October 11, 2006[3] | |||||||||
| Recorded | 2005 - 2006 | |||||||||
| Genre | soundtrack | |||||||||
| Label | Bonnier Amigo Music Finland | |||||||||
| Various Artists chronology | ||||||||||
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According to the MTV3 website, the soundtrack was released on October 11, 2006.[3]
| # | Title | Artist(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | "Fate" [movie version] | Bleak feat. Ana Johnsson &. 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 |