It’s no surprise that Karla Murthy became a filmmaker. From a young age, she had a camera in her hands, capturing the daily life of her family. And we’re lucky she did, because in The Gas Station Attendant, Murthy cobbles that footage together into a heartfelt, personal portrait of her relationship with her father. She chronicles his journey to America from India and his turbulent quest for a successful, stable life.
There comes a time in every person’s life when they begin to see their parents in a different light. For some, it’s after a big life event. For others, it’s not until they’ve passed away. For Murthy, it was when her father began working as a gas station attendant, which is where the story begins. Now living in New York, Murthy would call her father during his late-night shifts. In those calls, he started to open up about his past. She decided to begin recording their conversations, which became a steady through line of the film, helping Murthy dig deeper into his story. That story starts at the age of ten, when he ran away from home in India and began working odd jobs while traveling across the country, often sleeping on the streets. He eventually landed a position at a hotel where he met an American couple who sponsored his visa to the United States. This rare act of kindness from two strangers changed his life, leading to him meeting his wife and starting a family.
“Murthy cobbles that footage together into a heartfelt, personal portrait of her relationship with her father.”
That’s where Karla comes along. Despite an engineering degree and time spent at Boeing before mass layoffs, she watched as her father jumped from job to job. He tried selling clothing and medical supplies, he opened two Indian restaurants, and he took on roles at McDonald’s and Denny’s. To a child observing, it’s one adventure after the next. But for her father, it was a desperate attempt to survive and provide for his family when there was no other choice.
Murthy doesn’t just tell the audience a story; she opens up a portal into her own soul. It’s rare that you leave a documentary feeling like you really knew the subject, but Murthy translates her father’s warmth and determination so eloquently. His magnetic personality attracts both the people in his orbit and the audience watching from home. When he knows the camera is trained on him, he masks his struggle, but during their phone calls, he’s vulnerable. And Murthy really lets those conversations shine. The scenes from their chats have shades of Chantal Akerman’s News From Home, where the images on screen are there to create an atmosphere rather than advance the story. And his words tell us so much. It’s a poetic reflection on the realities of the American dream. In their small Texas suburb, they’re surrounded by news of the space race, Friday night football, and line dancing. But the reality for an immigrant family is painted less by Americana and more by the constant struggle, not only to assimilate but to thrive.
In the end, Murthy wasn’t so different from her father. She struggled as she moved to New York in an effort to pave her own way. She worked as a hostess, designed websites, and fell into debt. But just like her father, she never gave up on her dream, and now we’re watching her story play out on screen in an award-winning documentary. “Make peace no matter how long it takes,” her father once told her. Clearly, this film is her attempt to do just that.
"…Murthy doesn’t just tell the audience a story, she opens up a portal into her own soul..."
