Before seeing the excellent new indie film It Was Just An Accident, in U.S. theaters now, I didn’t realize that, for political reasons, Iranian director Jafar Panahi‘s film can’t even be seen in his own country. This is actually his first movie, made in secret, since being imprisoned for working on a previous one about the protests that followed the 2009 presidential election in his country.
And it’s powerful. As It Was Just An Accident came to its ending, my first words were, “Well, this one will definitely stay with me”: the depth of pain of a group of severely traumatized adults, the question of whether revenge can be helpful or healing or neither, and the ability of many survivors, despite all their trauma, to retain their own moral compass and a sense of compassion.
The Plot in Brief
An accident damages the car of husband and father Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi). At a mechanic’s place, trauma survivor Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), unseen by Eghbal, is startled by the unmistakable squeaking sound made by Eghbal’s artificial leg as he walks. As Vahid was continually blindfolded, though, this sound can be the only basis for his conclusion that Eghbal was his despised prison tormentor.
Vahid sets out later to capture and kill Eghbal, but before he actually fulfills his mission he faces doubts. What if this isn’t actually the same man who severely abused him and ruined his life? Vahid proceeds to find out if any of his cohorts, also past political prisoners, can help him ascertain if this is indeed the man they’d dubbed “Peg-Leg.”
As Chase Hutchinson, Seattle Times, succinctly states, this film goes on to deal “with urgently existential questions of justice, violence and resistance.”
For me, it also evoked thoughts regarding our own country’s current warfare against immigrants (and others). What are these imprisoned individuals experiencing now and what kind of emotional and physical toll will it take in the long term?
Watch the trailer:
Selected Reviews of It Was Just An Accident
Janice Page, Washington Post: “If anyone has the right to make a revenge fantasy, it’s Jafar Panahi. And yet, this movie isn’t that. Panahi doesn’t make statement films; he makes question films, designed to instigate soul-searching and debate.”
David Fear, Rolling Stone: “This story isn’t about the filmmaker getting revenge, so much of an example of how Panahi ‘gets’ revenge — in terms of understanding how it operates, how it satisfies or doesn’t.”
Peter Travers: “[Panahi] aches for justice for his traumatized characters, of which he is one, without serving as executioner. There’s nothing accidental about ‘It Was Just an Accident.’ It’s a cry from Panahi’s bruised heart.”
Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter: “Subtly plotted like a good thriller, the movie slowly but surely builds into a stark condemnation of abusive power and its long-lasting effects.”
Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: “Once you arrive at the ultimate destination — a primal, furious cinematic scream at all the injustices that have happened in Iran and throughout the globe — you will never forget it. This is essential viewing and essential filmmaking.”
