Jade Warrior

Jade Warrior (Finnish: Jadesoturi, , 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 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 for Best Costume Design (Anna Vilppunen) and Best Film Score (Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen). 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.