Getting any film made, even under the best of circumstances, is a small kind of miracle. For auteur Jafar Panahi, getting a film made under the Iranian regime is another kind of miracle entirely – not to mention an active act of resistance. Panahi has faced difficulties making films before (his last film, No Bears, was made while he was under house arrest). But It Was Just an Accident is as openly critical towards his government as possible, and presents a moral and existential quandary that anyone can relate to when living under fear.

Much like last year’s blistering thriller The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Panahi’s film concerns a small, tight-knit group of characters facing a life-or-death predicament. But It Was Just an Accident is a kind of extension of Panahi’s own experiences when he was previously imprisoned for his art. The film begins with a bit of a misdirection, as we spend an extended prologue with a man (Ebrahim Azizi), his wife, and their daughter, driving through the dark. The film’s title actually comes from this section, after he accidentally hits a dog, and the parents try to assuage their daughter that sometimes God brings people and things into our lives, though we may not understand its purpose.

It’s not until the man’s car breaks down, and he stops in front of a garage, when the film proper kicks in. Because working in the garage is Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), and once he sees a familiar shuffle, he begins to suspect that the man in question is Eghbal, a man responsible for torturing and tormenting him for 5 years while he was in prison. Panahi has stated that he was never tortured while imprisoned, but an untold number of his fellow Iranians have suffered worse fates, so it’s easy to see where the inspiration comes from.

Vahid doesn’t hesitate to act by kidnapping and digging a hole, fully intending to bury the man alive. But, as the man pleads for his life, Vahid begins to doubt whether he is, in fact, his captor. So Vahid recruits a select few friends who were also imprisoned in the hopes that they can properly identify the perpetrator. Thus, It Was Just an Accident becomes a kind of road film, and a deeper conversation begins to take place. Ultimately, the film is composed of Shiva (Mariam Afshari), Goli (Hadis Pakbaten), Ali (Majid Panahi), and Hamid (Mohamed Ali Elyasmehr), and they each have their own unique perspectives on what to do with the captured man.

No, It Was Just an Accident doesn’t devolve into a revenge thriller; rather, Panahi thoroughly investigates the very idea of revenge. It may be satisfying to exact justice on someone with no value for decency or other peoples’ lives, but what happens afterwards? Of course, this doesn’t even include the spiritual ramifications, or even the practical question of if Vahid and his friends will get away with it. If the conspirators let their captive go, what happens then? Even if he’s an innocent man, what’s to stop the circle of violence from returning back to them? In case all of this sounds like a preachy bore, Panahi punctuates the film with frequent moments of unexpected humor. That said, the conversation does become slightly repetitive after it kicks in, and there’s a third act side-quest which could have potentially been excised.

An artist is shaped by their experiences, and the experiences of their compatriots. Nobody but Jafar Panahi could have made It Was Just an Accident in the same way; the film shines not just in its excellent screenplay, but in the way it’s made. Long takes are the norm, including a stunner in the closing minutes, and one in the desert as tensions reach a peak. Action will sometimes creep in from the fringes, a subtle indicator that we’re not seeing the full picture. And the body at the center of it all is barely seen (unconscious in the locked trunk of Vahid’s van), a kind of specter hanging over everything unfolding. There are films this year with more complex plots, more exciting action, or more dynamic performances, but It Was Just an Accident and its philosophical implications may linger for longer because it doesn’t hesitate to ask the difficult questions of a morally corrupt system.

It Was Just an Accident was screened as a Special Presentation film at the Heartland International Film Festival. Neon will release the film in select theatres on October 30 before expanding to theaters nationwide in the following weeks.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

• It’s become more and more accepted in recent years that success at the Cannes Film Festival is a quick shortcut to Oscar glory (in terms of nominations, anyway). And as the Palme d’Or winner, It Was Just an Accident feels almost destined to receive, at the very least, a nomination for Best International Feature (as the official selection from France). If anything is standing in the film’s way, it could be from its own distributor, Neon, which has at least 4 solid options in the category.
• Panahi feels like a safe bet for a Best Director nomination, though unlikely to win.
• The same can be said for Best Original Screenplay.
• These two aforementioned factors lead me to believe the film will make it into the Best Picture race as well.