A man with a prosthetic leg, traveling with his wife and daughter, stops at a garage because his car broke down. Based on his limp, a car mechanic, Vahid, thinks he recognizes him as his former tormentor Eghbal in a torture chamber when he was protesting against the government for the delay of salaries. Vahid follows the man the next day, hits him and hides him inside his van. The man denies he is Eghbal. Vahid then invites other people who were in the prison, bride Goli and her groom, their wedding photographer Shiva, and Hamid, to help him identify the man. Hamid is certain based on the man's prosthetic leg which he lost in Syria, but others are not sure. Vahid and Shiva tie the man on a tree during the night, he confesses, but laments that he just had to do his job and protect the Ayatollah regime. Vahid leaves Eghbal a knife so that he can cut the rope and free himself, and then leaves with Shiva in the van.
Despite his preposterous 20-year ban on filmmaking by the Iranian authorities, the director Jafar Panahi returned in big style with his 'guerilla-style', secretly filmed movie "It Was Just an Accident" to again criticize said regime, which won the Golden Palm in Cannes. Staying true to his minimalist, realistic style that depicts several layers in his society and features non-professional actors, reminiscent of Italian neorealism, the movie suffers from pacing issues, which makes it feel either overstretched or lacking a more versatille, richer content to keep the viewers attention. However, its sole concept is engaging: a man thinks he recognizes his tormentor from the time he was in prison. This plot was already explored in previous films, among others in the '96 Croatian film "Recognition" and Villeneuve's "Incendies", but rarely was it presented as a calm drama like here. It dwells on issues such as in dubio pro reo, fair trial and vigilante revenge, contemplating if this can constitute justice. It also sometimes has colorful little details that say a lot: when Vahid goes to the library to ask his friend for advice, a woman seemingly "accidentally" passes on the street, not wearing any headscarf. The wedding photographer Shiva also doesn't wear a headscarf, but puts one on while exiting the van on a street in another neigborhood, which can be seen as a commentary on how the Iranian headscarf policy is waning in certain liberal areas. In another sequence, two security guards catch the group doing something suspicious in the van, and demand a "gift" for keeping quiet about it. The groom doesn't have any cash, just a credit card, but one of the security guards already pulls out a credit card machine, ready to get bribed. The 10-minute interrogation scene, filmed in one take, is impressive, but the reveal is a bit questionable: if they had not been sure if the man was their tormentor, it would have made for a more compelling dilemma which doesn't offer easy solutions.
Grade:++
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