Not since the "Terminator" films has the sound of an artificial leg created such an unsettling impression. But Jafar Panahi's new film isn't about a killer robot, but something that seems relatively indestructible — a living, breathing system itself, an autocratic regime and its followers who have inflicted much pain and unleashed irreparable trauma on not just a single generation. Much like his other revered colleague from Iranian cinema, Panahi's film speaks for the oppressed, digging into the darkest depths to stage a cinematic equivalent of a group therapy session for several characters who have suffered under the regime.
We have seen in the West filmmakers making action adventure thrillers centred on characters who, still struggling with the aftermath of World War II horrors, seek payback and catharsis by hunting down the Nazi men who have gone into hiding. Granted, they're quite thrilling in their own way, but what's missing in all of them is the personal touch, since those filmmakers haven't had firsthand experience of dealing with the relentless physical and psychological torment caused, either directly or indirectly, by the very institution that's the primary talking point of his work. A mechanic believes the man who has just walked into his garage is the same man who tortured him and several of his colleagues. It sounds simple on paper, but Panahi has much to say and do with it.
"It Was Just An Accident" begins with a sequence where we are spared the aftermath of a hit-and-run involving a dog that "just happened" to run into the front of the vehicle. The driver’s wife justifies it as “just an accident” to their daughter. We hear the faint cries of the dog but not, thankfully, the plight of the poor thing. Panahi's approach — whether it was a storytelling choice or dictated by budgetary limitations — is apt. Whatever the case, it's apt; a classic case of the unseen being more impactful than the seen. There are places in the film where Panahi shows violent acts upfront, but even there, it's not disturbing, because the damage is being done to the man we are supposed to despise. The opening accident has a meaningful connection to the succeeding events. It alludes to what comes later.
Panahi's work in "It Was Just An Accident" was driven, apparently, by limited resources, restrictive, and anxiety-inducing circumstances. But the overall quality — be it in terms of the visuals, performances, and staging — is far better than many films made with the necessary (or more than) budget, on lands that are not as oppressive as the one in which Panahi discreetly shot the film. The restraint enforced by his trying circumstances in Tehran is reflected in the filmmaking choices, too, without compromising in quality.
Most of the film is shot as if it's from the POV of the viewer — as though we are in the vehicle moving with the characters, observing their actions outside their vehicle, or even in exterior locations where 'we' are staying at a distance watching the chaos unfold. And then there's much chaos in "It Was Just An Accident", all relayed by some of the finest actors in the industry.
