Jade Warrior

Bonzai Media

All Region NTSC

Jade Warrior is a very unusual film. It hit the film festivals in 2007 and was marketed as Finland’s first martial arts film; in my mind this did it a grave disservice. Don’t get me wrong I like martial arts film and there is some excellent “Hong Kong Cinema” like martial arts and action sequences in this film, but Jade Warrior is more than that, far more.

The way in which the film links the Chinese and Finnish elements is by playing with myth and legend. The focus of the film is on the Kalevala, a highly significant European saga cycle which is Finland’s national epic. In this text there is a powerful object which can offer all happiness known as the Sampo, this object is also found in Chinese legends. There are various battles between men and gods for this object but in this tale the focus is on love and loss and is presented across both Chinese and Finnish cultures.

The film alternates between the present and an unspecified period in Ancient China. In present day Finland Berg (Markku Peltola) and Weckstrom (Elle Kull) are investigating an unusual discovery, an ornate octagonal metal box. Berg has no success opening it until Ronja (Krista Kosonen) arrives. She has just ended a difficult relationship and is getting rid of her ex-boyfriends goods. Since Kai (Tommi Eronen) is a blacksmith, some of his powdered hair and nails are in one of the tins and when it touches the box, it begins to open.

Berg soon realizes that Kai has some strange affinity for the box and moreover may be the key to their greater aim of recovering the Sampo. As he encourages Kai to realize who he is and forge the key to the Sampo, Kai re-experiences his past in Ancient China and a long and fascinating tale unfolds involving reincarnation, demons and swords and love and loss.

We learn of a battle between a great demon and the “Son of the Smith” and how thwarted love leads to a wrong decision which not only echoes through time but threatens the very fabric of the modern world. The climax of the film is unexpected with the mixture of the past and present, supernatural and mythic themes all rolled into one.

This is a beautiful film, filled with demons, martial arts, thwarted love and mythology. It has a truly remarkable soundtrack (though the music clip in the extras goes a little too far into new age folk for my liking) and some amazing cinematography. It is a film which seems to exist between two great cultures and the way it amalgamates both the Kalevala and Chinese myths is impressive.

The martial arts scenes are creatively done with some amazing sledgehammer fighting and a blade/love match which is erotic and beautifully stylized. The characters are all extremely believable and you find yourself totally absorbed into this highly creative fantasy. The time flew as I watched this film and I wasn’t bored for even one second, each scene seemed to move in new and interesting directions and until the very end I was challenged and stimulated.

Jade Warrior is an innovative, creative and adventurous film which combines folklore with fantasy in quite a unique manner. It can be a bit difficult to find a copy; we found ours at Asian Cult Cinema (http://www.asiancult.com).

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.1 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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