"The tightly focused screenplay hinges on mechanic Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) and his chance encounter with a family man (Ebrahim Azizi) he suspects could be the former jailhouse tormenter that left him traumatized forever. Vahid reacts rather than thinks, through his need for vengeance, and kidnaps Eghbal in a van. Then he starts to question the man as if he is indeed his former captor."
"Vahid's ensuing road trip leads to mayhem and outbursts as well as some quite funny moments. Vahid even interrupts an engagement photo shoot of Shiva's (Mariam Afshari) for Goli (Hadis Pakbaten) and Ali (Madj Panahi) to see if two of three can tag him. They go on to pick up volatile Hamid (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr) who wants immediate blood justice."
"Shot on the sly in Iran, since Panahi's screenplay had zero hope of getting a greenlight from the government, It Was Just an Accident doesn't for a second look like it was furtively filmed or made underground. It's a flat-out masterpiece of tone, mood, style and theme and is one of the very best films of 2025. It also fuses in, as Panahi loves to do, elements and techniques ranging from Hitchcock and neorealism classics."
Mechanic Vahid encounters a family man he suspects is his former jailhouse tormentor and abducts him to confirm his identity. Vahid confines the man in a box and travels to find former victims who might identify him. The road trip mixes mayhem, dark humor, volatile companions, and tense confrontations that test motives and loyalties. Several characters press for immediate blood justice while others add ambiguous testimony. The narrative builds suspense through misidentification and moral uncertainty, culminating in a primal, furious outcry against systemic injustices experienced in Iran and around the world.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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