“Attack the Gas Station!” is rare kind of film. Its plot is almost asinine, and it really has no right to be as endearing as it is throughout its runtime. Yet it is, and remains a revered piece of cinema long past its release in 1999. Packed full of humour, anarchy and downright bizarreness, this is a part of the Korean new wave that thoroughly deserves its plaudits.
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No Mark (Lee Sung-jae), Bulldozer (Yu Oh-seong), Ddan Da-ra (Kang Sung-jin) and Paint (Yu Ji-tae) are four equally disillusioned, sidelined youths. They live on the fringes, all being ostracised by one facet of society or another, and find themselves entirely fed up. So, one night, they take matters into their own hands, robbing a gas station for no reason other than to quench their boredom.
A day later, they go one step further. The foursome target the same gas station, with a just as unsuspecting owner but, when they discover that the money they came for has already been taken, decide to keep everyone hostage, taking over the workload as a result. As expected, hijinks soon ensue and, over the course of one chaotic night, the group of friends certainly end up with more than they bargained for.
At its best, “Attack the Gas Station!” is a relentless offering of zany, off-the-cuff humour and wall-to-wall freneticism. Park Jeong-woo's narrative never takes itself too seriously, which ultimately results in a pacey release which is allowed to zip by without anything truly meaningful ever taking place. Sure there are the comments on the way that the Korean society, and their “bullshit slogans” leads to youths being left behind, but Park ensures that his energetic brand of comedy remains rigid, and that melodrama never seeps into his otherwise succinct writing.
Furthermore, the characterisation of the friends is smartly pulled off. Throughout the near two hours they are all given a unique sort of depth, complete with individual characteristics, aims and ambitions, all of which help make them more endearing to the audience, and investable as otherwise thuggish youths. Again, it is a strongpoint of Park Jeong-woo's writing, and shows that there is more substance than meets the eye in this haywire flick.
Continuing, all four of the main ensemble perform their roles skillfully, even if each depiction does veer on the hyperbolic side of things. Yu Oh-seong is particularly entertaining as Bulldozer, giving his performance plenty of verve, energy and the right amount of cartoonish pomp. Elsewhere, the likes of Park Young-gyu, who plays the helpless gas station owner, give an adequate amount of colour to the movie, and ensure that nothing feels cheap or lazy.
Supplemented by smart cinematography from Choi Jung-woo, who manages to make the relatively small location feel like almost its own world, “Attack the Gas Station!” is a frantic, zany film which never feels dull. It might feel nonsensical at times, and a bit too immature at others, but for those looking for something stress free and action-packed, they should look no further.
