October 29, 2025
FILM: IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
DIRECTED BY: JAFAR PANAHI
STARRING: VAHID MOBASSERI, MARIAM AFSHARI, EBRAHIM AZIZI
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’ve been a fan of Iranian director Jafar Panahi since before his arrest and ban from making films in his home country. He ended up making a host of interesting and intricate films anyway during that time (This is Not a Film, Closed Curtain, Taxi, 3 Faces) at both his home and in secret. Now comes It Was Just an Accident which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It is now on the trail for Oscar glory as France selected the film as its submission for this year’s Best International Feature. All of this is an amazing accomplishment for the film and for Panahi. The feature, like many of his others, questions Iran’s political decisions and brutalities. In this case, a man, driving home with his wife and daughter have a small accident and later find their car breaking down. He ends up being noticed by another man named Vahid who swears the man, whom he calls Eghbal, had previously captured and tortured him. What follows is his attempt to get revenge on Eghbal with the help of other fellow victims. The only problem is that Vahid has a shred of doubt as to whether the man truly is Eghbal.
What makes the film really work is the constant movement of the plot toward what we presume will be a clear resolution for all involved. Along the way, the people Vahid finds to help identify the man are a diverse collection of characters with their own degrees of anger toward Eghbal based on what they endured. As viewers, we do care that they get some satisfaction for what happened to them. One of them is a wedding photographer named Shiva who is in the process of taking pictures of a couple about to be married. Surprisingly, the bride, Goli, is also one of the people Eghbal supposedly held captive. One by one, Vahid brings them to his van (Goli, still in her wedding gown) where he is keeping the man blindfolded in a box. The distinguishing features of Eghbal are his wooden leg and another with distinctive scars. They see the proof but the doubt still exists.
By holding Eghbal captive, it’s ironic that they are choosing to do to him what they claim he did to them. They just want him to confess. This leads to a lot of in-fighting as to what exact revenge he deserves. It also suggests the question: who is ultimately responsible for what happened to them? Is it Eghbal or the Iranian regime? Does he deserve the same punishment?
Interestingly, the man’s wife is pregnant and there is a sequence in which the “gang” make a somewhat unbelievable decision to help her out at home where she has fainted. Does she deserve their attention? Should she suffer for what her husband might have done?
Panahi’s script and direction is filled with tight tension and hints of an uncertain outcome. This makes for a compelling ride for viewers. In fact, I’d say this is probably one of the most “Hollywood-like” films Panahi has ever made. The questions it asks and the drama it offers feel resonant even if audiences can’t relate to being held captive. We can all debate revenge, governmental responsibility for how its citizens are treated, and the importance of being able to freely criticize that government. Panahi pushes the limits of what his home country is willing to accept from its people. That’s why he could make this film with the help of other countries such as France that seem much more aware of the rights of its citizens.
There’s a lot about the film that I will need to think about in the coming weeks and months. Whether the end is satisfying enough with its own ounce of mystery is one question to consider. However, there’s plenty here to recommend including the script, performances, and wider resonance and moral implications.
It Was Just an Accident played at the Chicago International Film Festival. It opens in limited release this week, including the Music Box Theater in Chicago.
FILM: IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
DIRECTED BY: JAFAR PANAHI
STARRING: VAHID MOBASSERI, MARIAM AFSHARI, EBRAHIM AZIZI
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’ve been a fan of Iranian director Jafar Panahi since before his arrest and ban from making films in his home country. He ended up making a host of interesting and intricate films anyway during that time (This is Not a Film, Closed Curtain, Taxi, 3 Faces) at both his home and in secret. Now comes It Was Just an Accident which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It is now on the trail for Oscar glory as France selected the film as its submission for this year’s Best International Feature. All of this is an amazing accomplishment for the film and for Panahi. The feature, like many of his others, questions Iran’s political decisions and brutalities. In this case, a man, driving home with his wife and daughter have a small accident and later find their car breaking down. He ends up being noticed by another man named Vahid who swears the man, whom he calls Eghbal, had previously captured and tortured him. What follows is his attempt to get revenge on Eghbal with the help of other fellow victims. The only problem is that Vahid has a shred of doubt as to whether the man truly is Eghbal.
What makes the film really work is the constant movement of the plot toward what we presume will be a clear resolution for all involved. Along the way, the people Vahid finds to help identify the man are a diverse collection of characters with their own degrees of anger toward Eghbal based on what they endured. As viewers, we do care that they get some satisfaction for what happened to them. One of them is a wedding photographer named Shiva who is in the process of taking pictures of a couple about to be married. Surprisingly, the bride, Goli, is also one of the people Eghbal supposedly held captive. One by one, Vahid brings them to his van (Goli, still in her wedding gown) where he is keeping the man blindfolded in a box. The distinguishing features of Eghbal are his wooden leg and another with distinctive scars. They see the proof but the doubt still exists.
By holding Eghbal captive, it’s ironic that they are choosing to do to him what they claim he did to them. They just want him to confess. This leads to a lot of in-fighting as to what exact revenge he deserves. It also suggests the question: who is ultimately responsible for what happened to them? Is it Eghbal or the Iranian regime? Does he deserve the same punishment?
Interestingly, the man’s wife is pregnant and there is a sequence in which the “gang” make a somewhat unbelievable decision to help her out at home where she has fainted. Does she deserve their attention? Should she suffer for what her husband might have done?
Panahi’s script and direction is filled with tight tension and hints of an uncertain outcome. This makes for a compelling ride for viewers. In fact, I’d say this is probably one of the most “Hollywood-like” films Panahi has ever made. The questions it asks and the drama it offers feel resonant even if audiences can’t relate to being held captive. We can all debate revenge, governmental responsibility for how its citizens are treated, and the importance of being able to freely criticize that government. Panahi pushes the limits of what his home country is willing to accept from its people. That’s why he could make this film with the help of other countries such as France that seem much more aware of the rights of its citizens.
There’s a lot about the film that I will need to think about in the coming weeks and months. Whether the end is satisfying enough with its own ounce of mystery is one question to consider. However, there’s plenty here to recommend including the script, performances, and wider resonance and moral implications.
It Was Just an Accident played at the Chicago International Film Festival. It opens in limited release this week, including the Music Box Theater in Chicago.