REVIEW: “It Was Just an Accident” (2025)

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Jafar Panahi’s new film, “It Was Just an Accident,” continues his tradition of making movies in a raw, realistic style, often under difficult circumstances. The film offers a sharp criticism of the current government in Iran. Panahi has faced repeated arrests, imprisonment, and a filmmaking ban due to accusations of spreading propaganda, but he persists in creating movies within Iran, frequently in secret and relying on support from distributors outside the country. This latest work is a prime example of his determined approach.

“It Was Just an Accident” has received critical acclaim worldwide, including the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film has also been selected as France’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. It’s a stark and honest look at the dehumanizing effects of oppressive governments and the long-term psychological damage they cause. On a deeper level, the film explores the complexities of revenge and how powerfully it can control a person’s life.

Okay, so this movie starts with a guy, Ebrahim, driving with his family at night. He unfortunately hits a dog, and the car doesn’t give up the ghost immediately – it manages to limp along for a while before finally dying right in front of a garage. As he walks into the garage, you immediately notice he has a prosthetic leg, and it squeaks with every other step he takes. A nice young mechanic comes out to help, but there’s this other guy, Vahid, hiding upstairs, and he’s clearly freaked out about something – we don’t know what yet, which is super intriguing!

Now that his car was repaired, the man drove his family home, unaware that Vahid was secretly trailing him. Vahid watched the family’s house all night, then followed the man into town. When the moment came, Vahid suddenly drove alongside the man, knocked him out, and kidnapped him, taking him to the remote desert. There, Vahid threw the man into a newly dug grave and began burying him while he was still alive.

For much of the film, Panahi keeps the audience guessing, building intense suspense. This changes when the captured man pleads for his life, revealing that his captor, Vahid, believes he’s kidnapped someone named “Peg-Leg” who has deeply harmed him. However, the man’s denials create doubt and send the story in an unexpected direction, blending raw emotion with dark humor.

Vahid embarks on a quest to confirm the identity of a man he thinks is known as Peg-Leg. He’s soon joined by an interesting group: Salar, a bookshop owner (played by Georges Hashemzadeh); Shiva, a wedding photographer (Mariam Afshari); Goli, a bride-to-be (Hadis Pakbaten) and her fiancé Ali (Majid Panahi); and Shiva’s volatile ex, Hamid (Mohammad Ali Elyasmehr). Each of them has a distinct personality and shares their own account of Peg-Leg’s cruelty.

As the story unfolds, Panahi’s characters gradually reveal the extent of Peg-Leg’s terrible crimes. Each revelation is more shocking than the last, and all the characters share a haunting memory of a squeaking prosthetic leg. However, they struggle to be certain that the man they’ve captured is truly the one who inflicted such pain on them. This uncertainty creates intense tension, which Panahi uses to explore difficult moral questions: are their actions justified, or are they simply driven by the trauma and desire for revenge?

The film’s summary doesn’t sound particularly funny, but director Panahi manages to inject humor into what is otherwise a serious topic. This not only makes the film more enjoyable, but also feels more genuine. While the movie challenges the conscience of a nation with its rebellious nature, it often feels more focused on broader questions of existence than on direct political statements. This elevates it beyond a simple criticism of oppressive rule, giving it a deeper, more human impact that lingers from the intriguing beginning to the unsettlingly open-ended conclusion.

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2025-12-18 18:58