It Was Just an Accident

The desire for vengeance is indisputably a toxic force, one that can lead us to engage in unspeakable acts whose despicable nature is often on par with the wrongs committed against us. Consequently, we can’t help but ask ourselves if this is an acceptable, justifiable course. What’s more, no matter how much we may wish to seek retribution, are we truly capable of following through on such acts, especially if we can genuinely appreciate the harm those heinous deeds may have had on us? Those are the thorny questions raised in this latest offering from acclaimed Iranian writer-director Jafar Panahi, showing us how a simple mishap can spiral out of control, creating a chain reaction of problems that grows progressively difficult to contain. What begins as a minor traffic accident involving Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi), a young husband and father, quickly snowballs into a progressively dangerous, intricately complicated scenario in which he’s unexpectedly spotted by Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), a onetime-persecuted Azerbaijani dissident who believes that Eghbal is the Iranian government intelligence officer responsible for having tortured him while in captivity. But is he? Vahid is uncertain, but he nevertheless avails himself of the opportunity to kidnap the suspected culprit, threatening to bury Eghbal alive to get his revenge. However, as Vahid zealously digs Eghbal’s grave, he pleads with the kidnapper that he has the wrong man. Given his nagging uncertainty, Vahid gives his victim a reprieve, holding him hostage while trying to definitively prove his identity. This sets off a series of both perilous and surprisingly comical incidents involving other former radicals (Mariam Afshari, Hadis Pakbatan, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr), all of whom struggle to determine whether the suspect is who Vahid contends. And, as this increasingly madcap situation plays out, additional complications arise that prompt Vahid and his peers to question if they can carry out this dubious venture. Having been on the receiving end of monstrous state-sponsored treatment allegedly at the hands of their captive, they wonder whether they can impose the same kinds of atrocities on him that had been thrust upon them. Their compassion and humanity gradually rise to the surface, increasing their hesitancy. Then they also wonder what would happen to them if Eghbal’s claims of innocence prove correct? The filmmaker skillfully wrestles with both sides of these questions and does so in ways that successfully combine gut-wrenching drama, chilling moments of terror, and inspired, masterfully implemented episodes of comic relief. These strengths aside, however, the narrative occasionally gets bogged down in overly talky sequences (especially in the overlong closing act), but, given Panahi’s long personal history of censorship, harassment and arrest by Iranian authorities, this is understandable. In fact, given the courageous but controversial views expressed herein, in some ways, I find it hard to fathom how this film got made in the first place. Nevertheless, for his efforts, the filmmaker has been deservedly rewarded with some prestigious accolades, including the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the event’s highest honor. Ironically, much of what has transpired in Iran over the past 75 years feels akin to the metaphor driving this story, an ongoing series of unfortunate events in which the stakes are continually upped with each passing incident. Yet, those similarities aside, as fitting as the film’s themes and title might thus seem, chalking up everyday real world matters to being “just an accident” comes up distressingly short in describing what has actually gone on in Iran. Perhaps it takes an uncomfortably distressing fable like this to help us see what can happen when we let our impulses get the better of us – and to realize that some things we might attribute to mere accidents are, in the end, nothing of the kind.

With no shortage of feral dogs roaming the desert at night, it’s no real surprise that a family heading home manage to hit one with their car. This upsets the daughter, but with her mum reassuring that her dad didn’t do it deliberately they manage to get their vehicle closer to home before it gives up. Luckily, they are outside a shop where a kindly soul offers to help with some temporary repairs. Upstairs, preparing for a wedding next day, is “Vahid” (Vahid Mobasseri) who begins to act furtively when he hears their guests. He follows them home, stakes them out and then follows “Eghbal” (Ebrahim Azizi) as the car is towed for repair next morning. Why? Well things become even more curious when he bashes the man over the head with a shovel and bundles him into a van which he proceeds to drive into the arid wilderness. He digs an hole, he bundles the man into it, he prepares to fill it in burying the man alive. Who is this man? What could he have done? Well his pleading for mercy manages to introduce an element of doubt in the mind of “Vahid” that he is not the man he thinks. As these uncertainties grow, “Vahid” seeks the corroboration of wedding photographer “Shiva” (Mariam Afshari) and it’s from here on in that we begin to get an idea of just who they think their prisoner is and what he is supposed to have done. Initially, she wants nothing to do with his scheme but the couple about to be married also turn put to be connected, as is her ex-boyfriend “Hamid” (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr) and soon the morals of two wrongs not making a right are being widely discussed by a group united in their loathing of “Peg Leg”. Just to add to their indecision, their captive’s phone is constantly ringing and when they discover his young daughter is concerned for her heavily pregnant mother who has collapsed at their home, the gang of would be assassins face a moral dilemma of their own. As the plot develops, there is comedy here. It’s dark, and not exactly laugh out loud, but it helps contextualise a very human story of revenge tinged with plenty of humanity. These people are not inherently brutal, indeed the portrayal by Mobasseri of a man riddled with fury is effectively tempered here by his caution, his reluctance to get it wrong and then, in tandem with his colleagues, their sense of integrity. It’s set amidst a bustling city where people are subconsciously looking over their shoulders, terrified of being apprehended by authorities who might torture first then ask questions afterwards, but even that isn’t overwhelmingly presented, it’s implied more as the story unfolds. The acting, from largely amateur actors, is engaging and characterful with plenty of banter to keep it entertaining - even if the underlying subject matter is horrifying, and I must confess that the final scene of the film which is, like so much of this, largely about the audio is one of the creepiest endings to a film I can recall.