Attack the Gas Station!

In its way, Kim's anarchic comedy is as strong a blow against Korea's Confucian orthodoxy as Jang Sun-Woo's Lies. Four disaffected young men (flashbacks clarify their grievances against society) who have already smashed up a gas station for kicks decide in a bored moment to go back for Round Two. This time they take the place over, locking up the manager, staff and any customers who have the nerve to complain about the service. By the end of the evening, with dozens of hostages held inside and delivery boys, gangsters and cops converging on the forecourt, the four wild ones have not only shaken up people from every stratum of Korean society but also exploded the very principle of stratification. Full of surprising twists, scripted and acted with malevolent glee, this is one of the funniest and most subversive social comedies ever made.