Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Gas Station Attendant

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for The Gas Station Attendant 2025 1h 23m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 6 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
In The Gas Station Attendant, a daughter (of Filipino and South Asian descent) reflects on her South Asian father's life, his never-ending pursuit of the American dream, and the human capacity to love and survive. As a young boy, H.N. Shantha Murthy ran away from home to escape the extreme poverty of his Indian village. He travelled the country in search of work, holding onto the belief that one day his life would change. It did, following a serendipitous encounter with a Texan couple. With a sponsored visa, he travelled to the US, but his American Dream was not to be fulfilled. Karla Murthy's film weaves together home videos and phone conversations recorded during her father's stint as a gas station attendant, while also reflecting on her own identity as a first-generation American. What emerges is an intimate love letter -- a meditation on a complicated father-daughter relationship and a poignant tribute to the immigrant working class.

Critics Reviews

View More
Namrata Joshi The New Indian Express Jun 26
Purely as a documentary about family, it may not have the layers of Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell but it makes up for it with its straightforward honesty and emotional acuity. Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl Nov 10
7/10
Despite the intensely personal nature of The Gas Station Attendant, Murthy maintains a sense of calm while exploring her past... Go to Full Review Peter Keough Arts Fuse Jul 25
Deftly woven together into an evocative collage. Go to Full Review Sarah Manvel Movies We Texted About Jul 16
The Gas Station Attendant has managed to land in the world at exactly the right time to become a huge symbol of what America used to be. Go to Full Review Amber Wilkinson Eye for Film Jul 7
4/5
Universal ideas interlock with this personal and resonant story. Go to Full Review Paul Emmanuel Enicola The Movie Buff Jun 19
A-
A film that’s equal parts remembrance, reckoning, and recognition of a love that sometimes spoke in broken conversations, long road trips, and tired, late-night phone calls. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

View All

Karla Murthy

Director

Karla Murthy

Screenwriter

Rajal Pitroda

Producer

Carrie Lozano

Executive Producer

Geeta Gandbhir

Executive Producer

Rekha Malhotra

Executive Producer
View All

The Gas Station Attendant

The Gas Station Attendant: Trailer 1 The Gas Station Attendant: Trailer 1 2:02 View more videos
View All

The Gas Station Attendant

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In The Gas Station Attendant, a daughter (of Filipino and South Asian descent) reflects on her South Asian father's life, his never-ending pursuit of the American dream, and the human capacity to love and survive. As a young boy, H.N. Shantha Murthy ran away from home to escape the extreme poverty of his Indian village. He travelled the country in search of work, holding onto the belief that one day his life would change. It did, following a serendipitous encounter with a Texan couple. With a sponsored visa, he travelled to the US, but his American Dream was not to be fulfilled. Karla Murthy's film weaves together home videos and phone conversations recorded during her father's stint as a gas station attendant, while also reflecting on her own identity as a first-generation American. What emerges is an intimate love letter -- a meditation on a complicated father-daughter relationship and a poignant tribute to the immigrant working class.
Director
Karla Murthy
Producer
Rajal Pitroda
Screenwriter
Karla Murthy
Production Co
Greene Fort Productions
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 23m