It Was Just an Accident
dir. Jafar Panahi · 2025
The struggle for justice and the burden of past trauma can lead individuals to question their own morality and the consequences of their actions.
Eghbal's car breaks down in the desolate Iranian desert after he accidentally runs over a dog, leading to a fateful encounter with Vahid, a mechanic haunted by his past. As Vahid grapples with the possibility that Eghbal may be one of his former torturers, the film unfolds with a gripping intensity, forcing viewers to confront the complexities of guilt, revenge, and the moral ambiguities of justice.
SPOILER: While driving home to the countryside at night with his pregnant wife and young daughter, Eghbal runs over a dog. The car breaks down, and Eghbal stops in front of a garage. There, Vahid, a car mechanic, thinks he recognizes, from the sound of his prosthetic leg creaking, one of his former torturers from when he was detained by the Iranian authorities. After following him to find out where he lived, the next day Vahid knocks the man he suspects unconscious, kidnaps him, and takes him to the desert with the intention of burying him alive. While carrying out his plan, he begins to doubt Eghbal's guilt, who cries out that he has never worked in a prison and only lost his leg the previous year. However, during his detention, Vahid was always interrogated blindfolded. He pulls Eghbal from the hole, loads him into his van, and returns to Tehran to seek the advice of Salar, a bookseller. Salar directs Vahid to Shiva, whom he finds taking wedding photographs for his friend Golrokh and her fiancé Ali. Shiva and Golrokh were also imprisoned and tortured at the same time as Vahid. The young couple and the photographer get into the van and go to find Hamid, Shiva's ex-partner, also a former victim of Eghbal who has retained a very violent streak. They return to the desert. But the four former prisoners of the torturer are divided on what should happen to him, especially since Eghdal continues to vehemently deny everything.
