"Watching " It Was Just an Accident" feels like watching director Jafar Panahi 's tortured yet graceful inner monologue around the merits of forgiveness. The Iranian filmmaker's Palme d'Or-winning film, like his other works, was filmed without official permission from the Iranian government-a tactic that enables him to critique the authoritarian regime creatively and without censorship. It hasn't been without consequences; Panahi was first arrested in 2010, then released, and subsequently placed under house arrest."
"The film opens with a husband (Ebrahim Azizi), wife (Afssaneh Najmabadi), and daughter (Delmaz Najafi), who hit a dog while driving at night. The husband goes to get his car repaired, and a worker, Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), gets perturbed upon seeing him and hearing the squeak of his prosthetic leg. Vahid later captures the man, claiming him to be Eghbal, a former intelligence officer who mercilessly tortured Vahid to the point where he can't walk properly."
The film was shot without official permission from Iranian authorities, enabling a creative critique of an authoritarian regime while risking arrest and censorship. The filmmaker experienced arrests and house arrest in 2010 and was arrested again in 2022 after raising questions about fellow filmmakers. The plot centers on a nighttime accident when a family hits a dog, followed by a worker, Vahid, who believes a man with a prosthetic leg is Eghbal, a former interrogator who tortured him. Vahid assembles other former detainees to verify identity. The film blends a taut, suspenseful narrative with themes of state brutality, accountability, and the moral complexity of perpetrators who are themselves damaged.
Read at Roger Ebert
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