Beware, films by Jafar Panahi have multiple levels of meaning, just as they have, in his case, multiple levels of production. All is not as it seems, and Panahi’s genius lies in his extraordinary ability to tell a story on many planes.
Eghbal is driving with his family. It is a pitch-black night. Thud. Something is hit. He stops the car and steps out to have a look. We hear whimpering that he ignores. But as the family resumes travel, the car has engine trouble.
Notice the environment where things can be heard but not seen. Notice the sound of suffering that is disregarded. Their path and goal remain, but their vehicle, their means of conveyance to their goal, has become compromised because it has caused suffering. Imagine the man driving the vehicle represents a government.
Jafar Panahi, a famed filmmaker, lives in exile in France because he is wanted for arrest in Iran. He’d like the Iranian government to think that’s where he stays. But the word on the street is that Panahi secretly directed and filmed “It Was Just An Accident” on the streets of Tehran and in remote desert locations in Iran. He has revealed he only returned to France for the post-production technology work.
Because he partnered with France’s Les Film Pelleas, “It Was Just An Accident” was allowed to be submitted as France’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Oscars.
All is just not as it seems, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must be frustrated. Once again, using analogies and metaphors, Panahi, as usual, has made a film about the cruelty of the fascist Iranian regime.
The most startling moral dilemma is that when Eghbal takes his car to a garage for the car problem, a worker (Vahid) there recognizes him as the man who had tortured him in prison. He immediately plans a cruel revenge. Others who had suffered from Eghbal’s torture join in. But there is one problem. All of them had been blind-folded. They had never seen him – just heard his voice and heard the squeak of his prosthetic leg.
When Eghbal claims they have the wrong man, most begin to wonder if they are mistaken. They don’t think so, but they, unlike their prison oppressor, are not ruthless. They wrestle with their consciences. Should they go ahead with their murderous plan without proof or confession … or not?
Panahi plumbs the depths of what they really want. If you were in the position of the worker, what would you do? This is a rich moral dilemma that Panahi skillfully and satisfyingly solves. His cast is exceptional, always acting naturally, as if we are seeing real life on the streets of Iran.
“It Was Just An Accident” won the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and is in the running for The Best International Feature Film in the 2026 Oscars on March 15.
Credits
Director: Jafar Panahi
Writer: Jafar Panahi
Producers: Jafar Panahi and Philippe Martin
Cast: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam, Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmhr, Delnaz Naiafi, Afssaneh Najmabadi, and Georges Hashemzadeh
Cinematography: Amin Jafari
Editor: Amir Etminan
Release: Oct. 15, 2025 (US)
Official Website: https://www.neonrated.com/film/it-was-just-an-accident
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