The Gingko Bed

When the Greek electronic musician Vangelis released his LP China in 1979 the music world discovered a new and exciting experience of beautifully entwined tones from different worlds and eras. He had taken traditional ancient Asian music and mixed it with the latest technology. The result was not only captivating: it resulted in a whole new wave with echoes to the present day. In a similar way the new Asian films have during the last ten years explored similar procedures. The plots are based on legends which are popular with ordinary people in that part of the world. The visual language is dazzling and the special effects are often such that an experienced Terminator or Total Recall connoisseur exclaims: ''How did they do it?''.Jacky Kang's The Gingko Bed is from South Korea and is a modern story in a modern Seoul, though with roots in the distant past. The 32-year-old art lecturer Su-hyull has a wonderful and affectionate life together with his girlfriend, the young doctor Sun-young. One day he discovers an antique bed, a gingko bed. What he does not know is that he has in an earlier life experienced true love on this piece of furniture. Su-hyun is the reincarnated soul of a court musician who once served the princess Mi-dan. Their love had an abrupt end when the evil general Hwang kidnapped Mi-dan and killed the musician. As a result of this tragic fate the spirits let two gingko trees grow, housing the souls of the two lovers. In the shape of an eagle, Hwang destroys one of the trees. The wood from this tree was then used to construct the bed which houses Mi-dan's soul. A thousand years later, that is today, Mi-dan meets her lover in Su-Ilyun's body. She tries to reach him through the bed. These efforts unfortunately bring back general Hwang who suffers from eternally unrequited love for Mi-dan, and is a terrible loser. Strange and frightening things begin happening, to say the least. Shadows from the past have rarely been more concrete, graphical and shocking. The Gingko Bed is a tale of true love which neither violence nor age can destroy. It becomes in the hands of debut director Kang a sparkling visual and passionate spectacle, as much a visual feast as a feast for the heal-t. The story may originate in the Far East, but it is closer to us than that. Just the bed is a tour de force. How did they do it? J L

Medverkande
Jin Hee-kyung, Shin Hyun-jun, Han Suk-kyu: Producent
Charles Shin C.: Manus
Jacky Kang J.K.: Foto
Park Hee-Joo: Musik
Lee Dong-Jun: Talat språk
Korean