Jung, a mortician, is severally dependent on his pain relief medication
prescribed for his near crippling tuberculosis and arthritis. His life has
not been a pleasant one as he was born with a hunchback and left in an
orphanage, only to be adopted by a woman who kept him in an attic and
forced him to sow dresses for her. He has a younger stepbrother who
dreams of becoming a woman, with the world around him despising
him for it. Jung’s only joy in the world is his work in the morgue. He finds
beauty in the preparation of the dead for their funerals, fantasising that
the dead are his friends who he dances with and even paints.

The Weight recently received The Queer Lion award at the 2011 Venice Film Festival. Director Jeon Kyu-hwan’s film beat stiff competition
from such acclaimed filmmakers as Brain De Palma, Susanne Bier and
Xan Cassavetes. With this film being the director’s fifth film, it certainly
shows that Jeon Kyu-hwan is a talent to be reckoned with especially
when dealing with the sensitive subject matter shown here in a wonderfully fantastical way. A true pioneer in filmmaking, not just in Korea but
the rest of the world too.