Time: 104 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence, offensive language & cruelty
Cast:
Vahid Mobasseri as Vahid
Mariam Afshari as Shiva
Ebrahim Azizi as Eghbal
Hadis Pakbaten as Goli/Golrokh
Majid Panahi as Ali
Mohammad Ali Elyasmehr as Hamid
Delnaz Najafi as Eghbal’s daughter
Afssaneh Najmabadi as Eghbal’s wife
Georges Hashemzadeh as Salar
Director: Jafar Panahi 

I had been wanting to watch It Was Just an Accident for a while. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival and received some very high praise. Unfortunately, I missed it at the NZIFF but I’m finally able to watch it now, and it definitely lives up to all the acclaim.

It Was Just an Accident begins with an abduction and it plays with audience expectations throughout. It has a really good handle of tone; beginning with some dark comedy to begin with, but also there’s a degree of dread that only increases as the film progresses, as well as a constant anger beneath the surface. The weight of the past trauma for these characters are really felt, and the film takes a very empathetic approach to them. It asks some moral questions about revenge, and of course it is a critique of the Iranian government from director Jafar Panahi. The engaging story culminates in a stellar third act, and the final 15 minutes of the movie are haunting and truly fantastic.

It’s also excellently performed by the phenomenal ensemble cast, which includes Vahid Mobasseri. Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr. Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, and Majid Panahi. Each of the characters feel distinct and very believable, and each actor makes strong impressions in their screentime.

Jafar Panahi’s direction is fantastic and powerful. It’s wonderfully filmed with long takes and greatly edited, and he really knows what to show and what not to show on screen.

It Was Just an Accident is an incredible, gripping, thought-provoking, haunting, excellently directed, and amazingly performed thriller, one of the year’s best.