Un simple accidente

There's a lot to say about this film. If there's one thing Iranians share as a nation, it's intergenerational trauma, rage, and hatred toward the last two regimes - one, the other, or both - and the lingering question of what to do with all that, with or without the current regime. This masterpiece by Jafar Panahi captures it perfectly.

Overrated. Linear narrative with no twists. Evens seem expected ' or too banal to be expected, or useful. Dialogue is average or below average. At times reduced to mere rant. Characters seem caricaturic at times. Photography is as average. Way overrated. I Don't understand how it won Palm d'or. Politics I guess.

I really hope Panahi watches his back cause boy oh boy does he upset the Iranian regime... I mean the topic of this story IS the reason to watch it. People demanding their rights are suppressed, held up hostage, tortured, terrified and traumatized for the rest of their lives.

As for the movie it's a little too loose and as expected of Panahi very talky. The characters are a motley crew of personalities, behaviours, compulsions and obsessions. And damn all these people pick their pockets dry just cause there's a bride. And a newborn. Tipping culture (sorry gift giving) run amok.

Frankly wasn't high up there with the rest of his celebrated movies.

But I really did not expect the twist in the story, I really thought these guys were just crazy. And I found the ending very uncomfortable. But maybe the best choice cause it makes sense for this type of world.

This was surely a sentimental choice for the top prize at Cannes, a tribute to Panahi's undoubted achievement in getting it made rather than a recognition of truly outstanding cinema. Tonally uneven, indifferently acted and its script peppered with on-the-nose dialogue that daubs highlighter on its 'cycle of violence' theme, I found it all rather tedious. It's only in a long static shot in the last 15 minutes that the film comes to any dramatic life, but even this scene fails to truly convince.

Will this be in anyone's list of the best films of the 2020s when we get to that reckoning, or will it have been largely forgotten like that other Palme Dud, 'Dheepan'? I think I know the answer.

It Was Just an Accident, directed by Jafar Panahi, has garnered global acclaim and was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. With a minimalist and seemingly simple form, the film begins with a quiet roadside incident, but what unfolds is far more than a tale of revenge-it is a layered exploration of truth, illusion, repressed fury, and the echoes of collective trauma.

Panahi, as always, avoids overt exposition and invites the viewer into an internal journey, led by characters who are deeply wounded yet still burning with unrest-characters who, to his credit, are masterfully developed and each embody a fractured dimension of contemporary Iranian society. However, the viewing experience, especially in the first fifteen minutes, is far from easy. The film opens ambiguously, with minimal context and a slow rhythm that leaves the viewer disoriented. Even seasoned international audiences may find themselves unsure of why they should stay engaged-unless they rely on the prestige of the director's name or the film's award credentials.

Formally, the film carries a somewhat fresh structure, occasionally weaving in moments of dark humor. But the acting-particularly in emotionally intense scenes-lacks consistency and depth in places, sometimes undercutting the emotional weight the story strives to deliver. These execution flaws lead to missed emotional connections where the film clearly intends to strike.

While the film seemingly critiques violence and seeks justice and moral clarity, its focus on a singular "culprit"-rather than addressing the systemic, institutional apparatus of repression-renders its outlook surprisingly aligned with a refined version of reformist rhetoric. This softened, left-leaning moralism bypasses major political upheavals in Iran's recent history-most notably the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement-and replaces structural critique with a narrowly personalized narrative. In doing so, it risks creating an unintended sense of appeasement with the status quo for international viewers.

What heightens this sense of ambiguity in a parallel world beyond cinema is the fact that the cast and crew of this "underground, unauthorized film" have returned to Iran without consequences-something that remains a distant dream for many independent artists, journalists, and political dissidents in exile. This contrast raises an unsettling question: is the film, knowingly or not, offering a palatable narrative of pain-tailored more for international festivals than for confronting the deeper truths of repression?

It Was Just an Accident is bold in form yet cautious in substance. It reveals fragments of truth with cinematic skill, yet avoids engaging with the roots of the trauma it depicts. For international audiences, it may feel emotionally powerful and thought-provoking. But for Iranian viewers, the film is less of a mirror than a carefully trimmed reflection-diluted, fragmented, and ultimately incomplete in its portrayal of wounds that are still very much alive.

Nousha Saidi France - May 2025.