Several films are up for Best International Feature as well as other awards this year, which is cool to see. I really liked It Was Just an Accident, an Iranian film about four people confronting their past trauma in a nearly impossible situation.
When a family with car troubles arrives outside an auto shop late at night, a mechanic named Vahid is horrified by what he hears: the squeak of the husband’s prosthetic leg when he walks sounds just like that of the man who tortured Vahid when he was imprisoned by the regime. Acting on trauma and impulse, Vahid abducts the man and plans to kill him in revenge, but he’s quickly paralyzed by doubt when the guy, Eghbal, frantically insists he’s got the wrong man. Vahid turns to several other people who’d been imprisoned around the same time, embroiling all of them in the dilemma as he searches for confirmation.
In addition to Best International Feature, this film is up for Best Original Screenplay, and I can see why. The story is very gripping, and it’s handled in a compelling way. Shiva, a photographer, is brought into the conspiracy when a mutual friend gives Vahid her info. She’s taking wedding photos when Vahid comes to her, and Goli, the bride-to-be, winds up overhearing. Goli has the same history with this man, so she and her fiance Ali join the group. Finally, Shiva enlists the help of Hamid, who’s been unable to get his life on track since his release. Everyone is in a different place in their personal lives, everyone has different feelings about Eghbal, and everyone has their own thoughts over what to do about it. Ali’s perspective as the only person here who wasn’t imprisoned and tortured adds a different wrinkle to the conflict.
The element of doubt is one of the most interesting things here. When the regime interrogates people, they’re blindfolded, so none of the former prisoners have ever seen their tormentor. They’re relying mainly on their sense of hearing, which brings back visceral memories—when Vahid first hears Eghbal’s steps at the auto shop, he’s immediately terrified. For Hamid, his sense of touch is also critical, feeling the scars on Eghbal’s leg as he recalls how their torturer used to show off his injury to brag about his war prowess. But while Hamid is quickly convinced, more than ready to act, the others feel uncertain. Is this really the man? And if it is, what are they prepared to do about it?
For all that the story is deeply personal and emotional, there are also bits of dark comedy threaded into the film as the characters deal with the more mundane reality of trying to enact a revenge fantasy, such as repeatedly having to bribe everyone from security guards to hospital staff and chasing after Vahid’s van when Hamid tries to drive off with Eghbal in the back. More than anything, this is a human story, and the characters who were imprisoned and interrogated are more than just the sum of their trauma. Their experience here is gut-wrenching, confusing, and at times, even funny.
Warnings
Violence (including discussion of rape,) language, smoking, and strong thematic elements.
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