Like so many of Jafar Panahi’s films, Palme d’Or winner IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT opens inside a vehicle. Its driver, Eghbal, is heading home with his wife and daughter when he hits a dog, killing the poor animal and destroying his engine. Seeking roadside assistance, he wanders into a warehouse. Here, a worker named Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) spots him, and it’s possible they are not meeting for the first time. Vahid’s life has been in shambles since his hellish time in prison, due to the actions of a torturer he calls Pegleg — and he thinks Eghbal is this man. While his impulse for revenge is swift-acting, doubt is sewn by his captive — and Vahid must seek out help from other survivors including Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a spitfire wedding photographer, and a bride named Golrokh (Hadis Pakbaten) who brings her groom (Majid Panahi) and their impetuous friend (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr) along for the ride. Confronting the man they believe was a sadistic torturer, the group faces an ethical dilemma. What should they do now?
After being censored and imprisoned (and most recently released after a hunger strike and an international campaign), Jafar Panahi returns with an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat thriller. As victims of Iran’s regime grow in number and revolts are widely reported, one of the country’s most daring auteurs boldly turns the camera on himself and asks: Should the victims of the state’s crimes seek revenge or show mercy? (Synopsis from the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival).
“A grand work from a filmmaker whose every previous film has already felt like a life-or-death scenario in cinema. The way he interweaves humor and tragedy is nothing short of spectacular, turning a film that could’ve become overwhelmed by its weighty topics, but never does. It’s also beautiful to look at, well-acted (and by mostly non-professional actors as well), and masterfully written. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT could go down as Panahi’s masterwork, and one of the best films of 2025.” —Ross Bonaime, Collider “By the time it wraps, ACCIDENT feels like content under pressure. Panahi welds scorching social critique to a masterful command of form: a devastating cry for justice, his latest also serves as a superb thriller. It is a towering achievement.” —Leonardo Goi, The Film Stage “We are enthralled from minute one until the end of an intense thriller that operates quietly but with no less punch. As such, there are no wasted shots and no squandered moments in this picture because it understands that cinema is life, imbued with the power to rediscover the past, to protect the present, and to imagine a future. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT is doing all those things at once, for its characters and its creator.” —Robert Daniels, rogerebert.com
