Sometimes a title is crucial to the integrity of the movie, giving audiences an idea or an exploratory idea of what they’re about to get themselves into, and sometimes the title is something that feels like it could mean more but, in actuality, it’s something that’s so mundane and unimportant to the story and by the time the credits roll, it makes you wonder why it was titled that in the first place at all. Jafar Panahi’s (Taxi; No Bears) latest, It Was Just an Accident, falls into the latter category. The title is just there. Yes, there is an “accident” that occurs which kicks off the premise of our movie and the entire adventure the audience finds themselves on, but what we were nearly expecting and even potentially wanting by the end of the movie to justify such a title is missing and, thusly, takes what was a captivating story of revenge and planning into something a little more sour than initially warranted.
The movie starts with Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi) driving home with his incredibly pregnant wife and their daughter. A horrific incident occurs on the dark road they’re on when Eghbal hits a dog. When he pulls over and realizes he can’t change what has happened, he continues on and realize he’s damaged his car which ends up fully breaking down in front of an auto shop owned by Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri). When Eghbal gets out of the car as someone else assists him, Vahid hears something, a clicking sound. A shiver goes down his spine as that sound has haunted him for most of his life.
L-R: Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr as Hamid, Majid Panahi as Ali, and Hadis Pakbaten as Goli in IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT. Photo courtesy of TIFF/NEON.
While not wanting to fully spoil the reason why Vahid knows Eghbal, I will say that Eghbal is believed to have brought great pain and life-changing events unto Vahid before, leading Vahid to stalk and kidnap Eghbal, and ensure that justice in his mind is served. However, when Eghbal refuses to admit that he is the man Vahid believes him to be, Vahid enlists the help of people who Eghbal supposedly also inflicted this punishment onto including a wedding photographer, Shiva (Mariam Afshari); the bride, Goli (Hadis Pakbaten); her groom, who was not directly affected, Ali (Majid Panahi); and the local madman, Hamid (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr). Throughout the journey of the movie, with doubt being present at almost every turn, the question must be asked, did Vahid identify the right man or was it just an accident?.
Writer/director Jafar Panahi puts these five characters face-to-face with the person one lone man among them believes is responsible for the horrific crimes committed against them, seeking their help in assuring his assumption. The question that gets asked here is one that is relatively simple — if you’re faced with the person who inflicted life-altering pain onto you, how far will you go to seek revenge and “justice”?. Everyone seems to have worked through the issues and moved on with their lives (with the exception of Hamid), trying to move past the horrific events. It poses an interesting political social commentary that will certainly ask the audience what they would do if put into the same situation at any point in their lives, which can lead to a complicated reaction nearing the end of the film.
Screening during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
In select theaters October 15th, 2025.
For more information, head either to the official It Was Just an Accident Toronto International Film Festival webpage or NEON webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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