Berlinale Special Gala: THE WEIGHT

By Padraic McKinley (director), Matthew Booi (writer), Shelby Gaines (writer), Matthew Chapman (writer) with Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash

In 1933, Samuel Murphy is separated from his daughter and sent to a labor camp. Warden Clancy promises him an early release if he takes part in a gold smuggling operation through the wilderness. How far will Murphy go to see his child again? Padraic McKinley's tense, atmospherically dense drama from the time of the Great Depression follows a group of desperate convicts on a dangerous journey full of physical and moral challenges. Set against the barren beauty of the Oregon landscape, the film paints a gloomy survival scenario and thus ties in with the introspective action cinema of the 1970s. The film score was composed by the Latham brothers and Shelby Gaines, with cinematography by Matteo Cocco. Ethan Hawke delivers a powerful performance as the film's reluctant but resourceful hero, while Russell Crowe exudes a quiet menace as his antagonist. Julia Jones lends dignity and defiant stubbornness to Anna, the only woman in the group.