Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Jafar Panahi
Starring: Ebrahim Azizi, Vahid Mobasheri, Mariam Afshari, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ale Elyasmehr
Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident is the latest in a long line of thrillers in which a protagonist abducts a stranger they believe is responsible for some awful transgression. The format seems to be making a major comeback in 2025, also fuelling Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia, in which Jesse Plemons kidnaps Emma Stone in the belief that she is an alien with malevolent intentions for our planet, and Jonathan Millet's Ghost Trail, which sees an exiled Syrian come to believe he has tracked down his former torturer, despite having never seen his face.
Panahi's film adopts a similar conceit to Millet's. While imprisoned for his role in a labour dispute against the Iranian regime, Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) was tortured by a man named Eghbal. Blindfolded throughout his ordeal, Vahid never saw Eghbal's face, but the sound of his peg leg continues to haunt him. Late one night while working in his garage, Vahid hears that sound once again. A man (Ebrahim Azizi) with a prosthetic leg needs his car fixed, having run over an animal in the road. Convinced that the man is Eghbal, Vahid follows him and eventually knocks him unconscious. Just as he's about to bury him alive in the desert, Vahid is suddenly overcome by doubt. Is this really his former tormenter or has he grabbed an innocent man?
Most films that adopt this well-worn format focus almost solely on the abductor and their abductee, but Panahi departs from this path by expanding the narrative to involve a cast of supporting players. Desperate to identify the man he believes to be Eghbal, Vahid calls on Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a fellow prisoner who is now a wedding photographer. Shiva has doubts, though the stench of the man's sweat is eerily familiar to her. More convinced is Goli (Hadis Pakbaten), a bride-to-be who is having her wedding photos taken by Shiva just as Vahid arrives. Goli demands revenge, as does Hamid (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr), the most radicalised and unforgiving of the group. Accompanied by Goli's bewildered fiancé Ali (Majid Panahi), the group sets off on a road trip to Vahid's proposed burial site, unaware of the actions they will ultimately take.
Panahi also departs from convention by sidelining the abducted victim in all this. "Eghbal" is knocked cold and spends most of the movie hidden away in a trunk in the back of Vahid's van. Here, the question is less about whether Vahid has the right man or not, and more about what the group will do if they decide that this is indeed the man responsible for the worst chapters of their lives. Would revenge be justified? And even if so, would it make them as bad as the regime they rebelled against, perpetuating a cycle of violence.
Such heady questions are offset by Panahi's trademark humour, reminding us that if he hadn't been bullied by his country's regime he would probably be making comedies today rather than some of the bravest and most politically charged films of this century. Vahid and co. find their paths blocked by various obstacles, such as running out of gas and being quizzed by nosy security guards. One scene plays like an Iranian Weekend at Bernie's as Vahid tries to hide the limp form of "Eghbal" from prying eyes. There's a running joke that sees Vahid constantly having to hand over his credit card to take care of unforeseen expenses, including multiple bribes.
A spanner is thrown in the works when Vahid receives a phone call from the kidnapped man's distraught young daughter, and we're reminded of how strong a role morality plays in the work of Panahi. This is a filmmaker who has faced down grave injustice with a wry smile, deceiving the various restrictions placed on his work with the ingenious nature of a master criminal constantly outwitting the authorities (some day we'll get a thrilling biopic of Panahi). But in the climax of It Was Just an Accident Panahi allows himself a release of long built up and thoroughly justified anger. Lit by the red beams of car lights at night, it's an extended shot that plays out for roughly 15 minutes, and as one character screams in the ear of another, we can feel a cathartic release from a filmmaker who has truly suffered for his art.
It Was Just an Accident is in UK/ROI cinemas from December 5th.
