Title – It Was Just an Accident (2025)
Director – Jafar Panahi (No Bears)
Cast – Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Plot – A seemingly everyday vehicle accident sets in motion a chain reaction of events that lead a group of ex-political prisoners to confront their past and one of their potential tormentors.
“Why did you destroy our lives?”
Review by Eddie on 23/04/2026
A recent recipient of two major Academy Award nominations, for Best International Feature Film and Original Screenplay respectively, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s latest effort It Was Just an Accident has been major success in more ways than one, none more so in Panahi’s defiance against the Iranian government and its controversial laws.
The rare type of film that means much more than pure entertainment or artistic values, with Panahi’s film not even seeking out permission from Iranian authorities to gain legal rights to film his production, Accident has many merits, but when judged purely on its delivery and movie focussed merits, you can’t help but feel Accident is an overly familiar revenge based drama that has been done to death in various formats over time.
While uniquely Iranian and featuring a very committed cast, Panahi’s well-scripted drama, that can at times turn into an overly shouty melodrama in particular segments, follows a familiar pattern of everyday people facing a moral dilemma that will change their lives forever, here represented by a group of ex-political prisoners who believe they have captured a past tormentor in a strange turn of events.
Starting off strongly as we are introduced to Ebrahim Azizi’s Eghbal and local mechanic Vahid, with the two fatefully crossing paths after Eghbal’s car breakdowns, Accident more than once is a white-knuckle ride full of moral conundrums, intrigue and mystery and features some impressive moments of acting from its mostly unknown cast but there’s lulls throughout the films 100-minute running time and an unshakable feeling that at times there’s a lot of fuss about not a whole lot.
At its best in moments focussed more on the intimate character interactions within, an early scene with Vahid and Eghbal in the desert then a last act scene between those two men alongside Mariam Afshari’s Shiva is a standout, with Ebrahim Azizi worthy of signalling out for praise, Accident thrives in various moments and you can see why critics have grown fond of this film of importance but it’s not enough to compensate for narrative flaws and weaknesses.
Brilliantly shot by Amin Jafari, for a film shot against the odds and with limited tools at its disposal there’s a lot to take away from Accident in a myriad of ways but there’s an inescapable feeling there’s a film here that’s been overstated and overhyped based more around its off-screen impact rather than on it.
Final Say –
A very familiar moral dilemma drama that comes from a unique time and place, It Was Just an Accident is a solid drama if an unspectacular one, one that’s been lavished with some curious praises of genius.
3 1/2 hospital admissions out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
That’s a great review.
Regarding the awards, nominations, and media hype, I agree, the film was praised for reasons that go beyond its cinematic qualities. But cinema, like literature, poetry, music, and painting, is also about life. The life of a people, the lives of individuals. A film is an artistic gesture addressed to us, and in this case, to a repressive and cruel regime. I think the film raises a very pertinent question about what comes next. There will come a time when the perpetrators will have to answer for their crimes, and then we must avoid becoming like them. Not easy. And I think Panahi illustrates this intelligently.
Fantastic thoughts mate, none that I can deny. I wish this one hit more for me personally but I can appreciate what it means for others.
E