5 months ago
1
By now, we person go truthful utilized to seeing Jafar Panahi being the protagonist successful his ain films that it feels unusual erstwhile helium does not look successful It Was Just an Accident, being screened successful the World Cinema class astatine the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala. But 1 tin consciousness the man’s beingness successful the sheer choler that pours retired of each of the 4 characters who are raring to person a spell astatine a antheral who tormented them successful the past.
It is nary mean antheral whom they person held successful captivity. The antheral stands for the each almighty State which has clamped down connected their freedoms. Yet, they are unsure if helium is truly the idiosyncratic down each their troubles. The movie begins alternatively innocuously, with Eghbal and his household riding location astatine night. The thrust is mostly joyful, but for an incidental involving a dog, which his large woman brushes disconnected arsenic ‘It was conscionable an accident’.
Later, the car develops a snag, forcing them to halt astatine a workshop, wherever Vahid, the mechanic, recognises a familiar, eerie sound, created by Eghbal’s dragging prosthetic leg. Those sonic waves bring backmost the achy memories of the torture that Vahid, arsenic an alleged governmental dissident, underwent successful situation astatine the hands of a antheral nick-named ‘Peg Leg’. Hot-headed, astir apt from the harsh experiences helium has undergone successful life, Vahid tracks him down the adjacent time and hauls him implicit to a desert, to beryllium buried alive. But then, Eghbal claims helium has thoroughly mistaken him for idiosyncratic else.
Not 1 to springiness up, Vahid drives with the antheral tied up safely wrong his van to find his friends, who person each been victims of his cruelty. The movie past opens up with a colourful acceptable of characters, from a wedding lensman to the wedding bride and her fiancé and a antheral known for his choler and shady deals. We perceive to each of them recounting the attraction that they suffered successful jail. One past wonders however overmuch of what they recount is from Panahi’s ain life, for helium has had aggregate presumption successful jailhouse implicit the past decennary and a half.
Despite each their pent up anger, their inherent humanity shines done successful a peculiar concern that elevates the film. It possibly could besides beryllium Panahi’s mode of telling america astir the quality of the radical that the authorities takes a dislike towards. The humour that shines passim the movie tin besides travel lone from specified a place.
On the different hand, Eghbal, their tormentor could adjacent beryllium the cardinal quality from different caller Iranian movie – the justice successful the Revolutionary Court successful Tehran, from Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024), a antheral who volition punish anyone who stands against the establishment, adjacent if it is idiosyncratic from his ain family. Incidentally, Rasoulof, who is besides facing the wrath of the Iranian authorities and is presently successful exile, is the assemblage chairperson astatine this year’s IFFK.
Unlike the run-of-the-mill revenge dramas, Panahi’s movie It Was Just an Accident has much motivation force, authenticity and immediacy, considering the real-life acquisition which informs Panahi’s approach.
