NEW Jade Warrior (DVD)

Jade Warrior, inspired by the myth and majesty of the Kalevala, tells the tale of a love-struck hero fighting against the restrictions of modern life and searching for love beyond time and place. In the course of his journey to be reunited with his love, he re-discovers his true origin, his skill as a warrior, and his unique destiny. Based on the Finnish national epic Kalevala, the film traverses modern day Finland and ancient China, where the battle against evil is underway. It's an epic love story about the battle between good and evil. It's a great combination of fantasy and kung fu.

Jade Warrior is an imaginative, visually impressive motion picture, which was completed by creating special effects never before witnessed in Finnish cinema. The effects include skillful fighting scenes, breathtakingly beautiful scenery as well as magnificent crowd scenes. However, this is not an action film, wu xia or otherwise - this is a fantasy-drama, with a couple of action sequences thrown in. If you're expecting the Finnish version of 'HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS', you'll be disappointed. Despite the director's love of the genre, he has only included touches of it, instead, fantasy and drama are at the forefront. The idea behind the narrative, that fate will catch up with those who try and escape it, is not particularly original, but its transposition to the Kalevala and China is and, it works well.

Jade Warrior, the first-ever Sino-Finnish co-production, was one of the most exciting cross-cultural film adventures of 2006. As a Canadian, I'm happy to note that it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in Sept. 2006.

Jade Soturi, is the film's name in Finnish. This is a truly remarkable film that has an imaginative original story that is inspired by the Finnis national epic known as The Kalevala. The link between the Finnish Kalevala and the Eastern Chinese/Tibetan is the legendary object known as "The Sampo" which is a prominent motif in the Finnish oral epic and there is also a Tibetan Buddhist concept of the same name. This film explores that link between those cultures. The acting is quite sublime and the story is more so. The story are several nice twists and turns to it that I won't ruin be mentioning in this review. If you want to watch a film that is free of Hollywood cliches than this is one that you will certainly enjoy.

This film is for the more sophisticated fan of martial and foreign cinema. It deals with past life regression, alchemy, fantasy, swordplay and crossing cultures. I found it to be creative and intriguing. It is a little slow. It is not for the old school chopsocky fan. It also weaves a tasteful love story into the plot so you can watch it with your girlfriend. Requires attention span and a stronger mind to appreciate.