By George & Josh Bate
It Was Just an Accident premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the coveted Palme d’Or. Since then, the film from writer/director Jafar Panahi has garnered immense critical acclaim. And rightfully so. Panahi’s latest is a slow-burn psychological thriller that damningly critiques authoritarianism while inviting the audience to reckon with their own moral compass.
It Was Just an Accident takes place in Iran and follows an auto mechanic and former Iranian prisoner named Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri). One night, Vahid’s auto shop is visited by a man with a prosthetic leg (Ebrahim Azizi) who Vahid thinks, based on the man’s voice and the sound of his stumbling walk, may be Eghbal (aka Peg Leg), the man who tortured him in prison. Intent on seeking revenge but concerned that the man may not be his torturer, Vahid kidnaps Peg Leg and tries to verify his identity by meeting other former prisoners.
To fully appreciate It Was Just an Accident, one must have at least a cursory understanding of the context in which it is made. Writer/director Jafar Panahi is regarded as one of Iran’s greatest filmmakers and, throughout the last 15 years, has faced persecution, a ban on working, and even imprisonment for his critiques of the Iranian government. It Was Just an Accident was filmed in secret, without the permission of Iran. Following its premiere at Cannes, the film has already been met with legal challenges and condemnation from Iran’s foreign ministry for its portrayal of the Iranian government. Beyond the making of Panahi’s film though, It Was Just an Accident exists within and is greatly amplified by an appreciation for Iranian history of the 20th and 21st centuries, so much so that the dramatic weight and emotions evoked become exponentially more powerful and prescient as a result. This isn’t to say that the film cannot be understood or prove engaging without such an understanding, but, far more than the average film, the political context within which the film exists and beyond the story told is immensely important.
Independent of the surrounding politics, It Was Just an Accident plays like a slow-burn psychological thriller with a mystery at its core. It is unclear if the man Vahid has kidnapped is indeed his torturer Peg Leg, a question that triggers an Avengers Assemble-esque gathering of former prisoners and torture survivors to try and verify that this indeed the man who wreaked havoc upon their lives. But, simmering under this mystery, is an even greater and more disturbing series of questions: if the man is Peg Leg, what do Vahid and his new companions do? Do they kill him? And, if they do, what does this say about their moral character and its potential similarities to the man they seek to punish? For a while, Panahi lets the former question linger in the minds of the characters and audiences, before answering it unexpectedly early in the context of the film’s 104 minute runtime. Although this decision depletes the film of its most intriguing narrative element perhaps a bit too early on, it leaves ample room for a thought-provoking examination of morality.
While reckoning with these questions, It Was Just an Accident introduces audiences to various survivors of Peg Leg’s torture. What begins as a one-man mission led by Vahid becomes far grander as he recruits photographer Shiva (Mariam Afshari), bride and groom Ali (Majid Panahi) and Goli (Hadis Pakbaten), and Shiva’s ex-boyfriend Hamid (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr) to verify the identity of their collective wrong-doer. The acting across the board is exceptional, each performer bringing a naturalism to their roles. Unfortunately, the film spends very little time getting to know any of the characters, including our lead Vahid. We may know that they were all imprisoned and tortured by Peg Leg at some point and we learn about their personalities as they each navigate this stressful situation in different ways, but, otherwise, their backgrounds and current lives remain under wraps. As a result, it can be difficult at times to feel fully connected to the characters, although the strong performances ensure having empathy toward the characters is never effortful.
In an unusual narrative turn, It Was Just an Accident has several of its key players exit the story prematurely, never to return again. The superhero movie equivalent to this would be an Avengers movie in which the team assembles and then, right near the big final battle at the end, several heroes drop out and disappear. It’s frustrating to see the shelving of characters, who would seemingly play very interesting roles in the film’s climax, but are perplexingly left behind far too soon.
The climax of the story also yields mixed results. Using several exceptionally long, uninterrupted takes, Panahi crafts a technically brilliant finale that the entirety of the runtime is building up toward. Unfortunately, the dialogue and substance of this climax do not match the filmmaking craft that bring it to light. The film spends so much time contemplating the morals of revenge and whether we should lower ourselves to the standards of our enemy only to culminate in a finale that adds little to the discussion and is somehow devoid of much of the tension that characterized the preceding film. It’s disappointing to say that the slow-burn that is It Was Just an Accident doesn’t reward the viewers for their patience with a satisfying conclusion.
Despite issues with its climax, however, the film finds greater success with the final note it lands on. Although maybe a tad too abstract and inconclusive, the final scene leaves a lasting impression and implies that, regardless of our efforts to overcome our pasts, trauma follows us everywhere we go. It’s haunting, unsettling, and, after a muddled climax, exactly what It Was Just an Accident needed to find its feet again before the credits rolled.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Winner of the Palme d’Or at 2025’s Cannes Film Festival, It Was Just an Accident is a slow burn psychological thriller that operates as both a compelling mystery, damning critique of authoritarianism, and a fascinating invitation for audiences to investigate their own moral code. The mystery intrigues as it progresses, until it concludes unexpectedly early in the runtime and gives way to a different series of questions involving the morality of revenge. Despite featuring strong performances from the entire ensemble, acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s movie does little to add depth to its characters beyond highlighting their personalities during such a heightened, stressful period in their lives. In addition to having key characters perplexingly and prematurely exit the story, the film stumbles with a climax devoid of much of the preceding tension and lacking in the emotional substance one would expect. The final note that the film concludes on, however, is haunting, unsettling, and sees Panahi find his footing again at the last minute, even if it plays a tad too abstractly or inconclusively. Independent of narrative stumbles, Panahi continues to live up to his reputation as one of Iran’s best filmmakers with another challenging and technically brilliant feature destined to generate conversation.