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Jul 16, 2026 Web Exclusive By Kaveh Jalinous Photography by The Criterion Collection

The act of revolution in Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi’s latest feature, It Was Just an Accident, exists within the filmic text itself and the context in which it was made. The two are fundamentally intertwined. Panahi’s bravery and commitment to making films despite repeated censorship and imprisonment at the hands of the Iranian government are a modern miracle and a true testament to the radical nature of filmmaking. It’s also living proof of cinema’s immortal nature, and its ability to transcend any impositions or restrictions put on it through storytelling and thematic resonance.

Perhaps most shocking, though, is how unlike It Was Just an Accident is from the rest of Panahi’s work. Developing his career by navigating the regime’s tricky, evolving rules of censorship, Panahi’s films are often insular works, shot clandestinely in small-scale, everyday settings (like rooms or even the backs of taxicabs). They also tend to deal directly with the act of filmmaking under imposed settings. It Was Just an Accident completely breaks that pattern; this is a true-and-taut thriller, with a wide perspective and multiple perspectives. It’s ferociously shot, quickly paced, and at times, it can feel like a blockbuster.

The story follows Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), a man formerly imprisoned by the Iranian government, who accidentally stumbles upon Eqbal (Ebrahim Azizi), his torturer, after recognizing the squeaking sound his prosthetic leg makes. Vahid strikes the man with a shovel, rendering him unconscious, and stuffs him into the back of his car. Unsure of whether the man is his torturer, he drives around Tehran, meeting other people who were tortured by Eqbal, with the group all attempting to determine whether this man is the same person who inflicted so much pain on them. The film tracks that tension and lives off of this ambiguity, muddying and clearing itself to the point where, by its unforgettable third act, you don’t know who or what to believe.

By the time the film sets this narrative up, around the 20-minute mark of this 103-minute film, it’s more than clear why this film took home the Palme d’Or at last year’s film festival. Panahi’s blocking and scripting decisions are nothing short of astonishing. In those opening minutes, when the narrative isn’t clear, Panahi plays with audience expectations; the first character you follow is Eqbal driving home with his family. It’s only when they stop at a rest stop, after hitting a dog on the road (the literal “accident” that makes up the film’s title), that we meet Vahid. The decision to show Eqbal’s humanity (and his relationship with his wife and daughter) first is extremely smart, and sets up the tension that’ll define the rest of the film. The act of piecing together who the film’s central characters are and their relationship with another also benefits from this more methodical pacing.

The film also operates at a consistently fascinating moral crossroads, with characters from Vahid’s makeshift group often questioning both whether Eqbnal is the man who tortured them, and if they’re just perpetuating a cycle of violence by taking justice into their own hands. Panahi doesn’t clearly offer answers, either, leaving the conversation for the characters (and the audience) to have. Because the film’s themes are so intertwined with Panahi’s own experiences, both in prison and trying to move on from his time there, it’s all the more brave and astonishing that the director is able to keep this question open with such tenacity.

The Criterion Collection’s 4K UHD release of the film features a new digital master, approved by Panahi himself, as well as a new conversation between Panahi and director Ramin Bahrani, as well as a recording of the film’s press conference at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. It’s nice to see how quickly this pinnacle work has been inducted into the Criterion canon; despite it being one of the best films of last year, and of the decade so far, it still feels criminally underrated and underseen.

(www.criterion.com/films/35606-it-was-just-an-accident)