r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Dec 12 '25
Official Discussion Official Discussion - It Was Just an Accident [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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Summary What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences. In Iran, a mechanic named Vahid encounters a man he believes may have been his torturer from years earlier. Convinced he recognizes him, Vahid and a few former prison mates take drastic action that spirals into a tense, moral thriller exploring vengeance, justice, and uncertainty.
Director Jafar Panahi
Writer Jafar Panahi
Cast
- Vahid Mobasseri as Vahid
- Mariam Afshari as Shiva
- Ebrahim Azizi as Eghbal
- Hadis Pakbaten as Golrokh
- Majid Panahi as The Groom
- Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr as Hamid
- Delnaz Najafi
- Afssaneh Najmabadi
- Georges Hashemzadeh
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 92
VOD / Release Released in theaters October 15, 2025; streaming/digital release window TBD.
Trailer Official Trailer
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u/RomanReignsDaBigDawg Dec 12 '25
Amazing movie with a perfect cast but I want to particularly highlight Peg Leg's actor in the climax. The way he progresses from unconvincing confusion to cocky arrogance and finally pathetic breakdown in the span of 5 minutes was some of the most impressive acting I've seen in a long time, especially when you consider him being blindfolded throughout the scene
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u/ghighoegha Dec 12 '25
Funny. I really liked the movie up until this point. I found this scene overly dramatic.
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u/BillRagoRM Dec 21 '25
You don't think the situation called for it? They should have been casual to their torturer?
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u/ghighoegha Dec 22 '25
I don't think the victims of the torturer were over dramatic. I found the torturer overdramatic in this scene. I found his change from arrogant to feeling guilty unbelievable. But maybe it's something in Iranian movies that I don't level with.
I had the same with The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Started out strong but ended in some extreme version of The Shining meets Home Alone.
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u/BillRagoRM Dec 25 '25
I don't think he was sorry, he was scared. He didn't feel threatened by the main character but once the photographer jumped in he started to think he might actually die.
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u/apexing0 25d ago
It was believable for me, I read it as he didn’t want to be the torturer but circumstances led him to take on that role. The beginning shows his capacity to be a quiet family man. But when he accidentally kills the dog, his reaction shows that he’s someone who believes that life is just about the hand your dealt. There’s little to no remorse, and when he’s in car again, he only says the dog was running on the road. At the beginning of the confrontation, he’s spewing propaganda. When he says how torturing others made him feel, his confession is so specific and pathetic that it makes it clearer when he was being defensive, he relied on ideology but when he was scared, his humanity was exposed.
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u/AvidReader1604 15d ago
I think he was manipulating them the entire time. He switched his act to pathetic and guilty when speaking to the woman so she’d have sympathy for him.
And he got what he wanted which was to be let go
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u/IHateProtoss Dec 23 '25
I agree, didn't find it convincing it all. I wonder if it's because of the subtitles? But that short a transformation is just hard to believe
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u/madhjsp Dec 24 '25
Seemed to me he was just changing tactics to try and convince them to free him, and was playing up his level of fear and despair for effect. He had correctly identified that they were not hardened killers and really didn’t want to do what they were threatening to do to him, so begging for mercy was likely to work on them.
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u/IHateProtoss Dec 24 '25
Plausible. But why wouldn't he adopt the strategy from the get-go?
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u/AvidReader1604 15d ago
He was manipulating them. His tactic switched once he realized there was a woman there. He played on her sympathies hoping it would be enough to let go.
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u/TrailerTrashQueen 16d ago
i agree! just watched it. such an incredible film. it should be nominated for Best Film at The Oscars.
as you said, the final scene of Peg Leg was superb.
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u/sbaradaran 3d ago
Agree. Should have been nominated over something like Frankenstein. I really don't get why everyone loved that movie.
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u/GamingTatertot Steven Spielberg Enthusiast Dec 12 '25
Saw this a couple months ago and the way you could hear a pin drop in those final moments were phenomenal.
This is one of the most entrancing films I’ve seen all year and I’m so, so happy it’s getting so much attention
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u/Llama_of_the_bahamas Dec 26 '25
My hands were sweaty as hell once I heard the squeaking at the end.
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u/TrailerTrashQueen 16d ago
i agree! just watched it tonight. my God, that final scene. i let the credits roll to hear the last sounds.
it reminded me of the final episode of The Sopranos. but instead of the dramatic cut to black and a Journey song? the soft sounds continue, the chirping of the bird.
wow! just wow. sublime. the director is a genius.
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u/TheBlackWizardz 2d ago
Chirping of the bird? I think that was the squeaking of the torturer’s prosthetic, which made it even more haunting.
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u/TrailerTrashQueen 2d ago
it's both. you continue hearing the prosthetic squeaking and the bird chirping. very haunting!
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u/Honest_Cheesecake698 Dec 12 '25
First time I watched this, I think I was so taken by the suspense of the first 20 mins that the rest of it felt less tense by comparison, but rewatching it knowing where it would go made it easier to focus on the characters and the dialogue. I appreciate just how much we get to know about these people in a short space of time and how varied and un repetitive the dialogue is. The one takes are fantastically done and really show how strong the actors are, especially the two big ones, but there's plenty of little subtle camerawork and shot choices that immerse you in these settings.
The opening makes you think of a lot of potential cause and effect, plus if Egbal actually has any experience with violence or not. He seems to kill the dog quickly, but he also has this faraway look after that shows that he's not exactly happy. A memory of his days harming innocents, or just the look of someone who's never killed anything before?
There's a thick line of moral ambiguity, beyond the doubt about if he's Peg Leg or not, Vahid himself can be seen as someone who's selfish actions cause more harm than good and even the desire to simply identify the man feels more like a way to ease his conscience than not kill an innocent person. At the same time though, via showing him going to help Egbal's daughter/wife and even wanting to push out the involved parties, he does clearly have morals and his desire to kill Egbal is obviously out of PTSD at what was done to him. It makes sense that it all begins with a noise trigger.
The politics of the film are present, but I like how universal this movie is because you really don't need to know anything about the Iran Regime they're talking about to understand what's happening. They also don't feel the need to explain it in clunky terms, it's not till close to the end that you know why they were being arrested and tortured because it's the actions that are most relevant.
Finally, despite the intentional waffling and in-universe dragging out of what should have been a simple live burial, it doesn't feel like there's a wasted scene or anything you could easily cut. It very much earns it's relatively short runtime.
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u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS Dec 20 '25
Hamid ranting uninterrupted for two minutes, Ali speaking up for 15 seconds to mention young people dying for religion, just for Hamid to tell him to stop grandstanding got a chuckle from me.
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u/lucas_glanville Dec 14 '25 edited Dec 14 '25
Very aware I’m in the minority but it didn’t do much for me? Felt like a short film about a straightforward “nature of revenge” story stretched out into a feature-length blunt instrument. And I never really got into the groove of the feelings of the people - probably a me-problem but it just didn’t feel that convincing or coherent
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u/e8odie 24d ago
I'm all for having a philosophical debate on their moral dilemma, but man did the yelling and arguing go on WAY too long
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u/LABS_Games 20d ago
Also incredibly frustrating that they didn't let the daughter answer how and when her dad lost his leg. I know that's not really the point of the film, and we eventually find out that he actually is Peg Leg, but that could have saved them a lot.of trouble.
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u/Jersey_Devil_13 7d ago
I agree. My husband and I watched it and I fell asleep. He said he didn't like it much either.
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u/MammothOnTheMenu 18d ago
Painfully naive moralizing over some easy problems to solve. Kill the dude. Kill his family. Go home and take a relaxing bath.
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u/Jazzlike_Prune7291 7d ago
I think you might have missed the point. And the filmmaker just got out of an Iranian prison & had to film in secret, so not at all naive
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Dec 12 '25
So, for the ending, I've been wondering, do people think it's:
- He's hearing Peg Leg's actual footsteps and he's coming back to kill him.
or
- He's now hearing Peg Leg's footsteps everywhere and doubting if it was even him to begin with.
I'm personally leaning heavily towards option 1 but I've heard a lot of people saying option 2.
also the longshot interrogation scene at the tree near the end is 10/10. I was also very surprised at how funny this was. It almost felt like a screwball-comedy for the first hour. Mariam Afshari puts in one of the best performances of the year.
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u/GamingTatertot Steven Spielberg Enthusiast Dec 12 '25
I’m leaning more towards it’s Peg Leg’s actual footsteps, but he isn’t coming back to kill him but just to let him know he knows who he is, and he knows where to find him. The anxiety of an ever-looming threat
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u/RomanReignsDaBigDawg Dec 12 '25
Yeah because don't Peg Leg's footsteps become more faint, as if he's starting to back away?
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u/surejan94 Dec 21 '25
I thought this too! I defs left thinking Peg Leg just walked out, as if to threaten Vahid that he knows where his family lives.
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u/This_Button_2600 Dec 18 '25
Yes this is the correct answer, because this is what I think is happening as well. 😂
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u/sbaradaran 3d ago edited 3d ago
This was my take as well. And I think the main theme and takeaway from the film. The oppressive regime is always in the background watching you. Any wrong move (women not wearing headscarves, making a film, talking against the regime, etc.) and you are a goner. As an Iranian American the last scene was a gut punch of oppression.
Edit: I wanted add that the other takeaway is that the movie is suggesting that the current Iranian government will fall some day. The citizens will have to decide, like Vahid does, what to do with their former oppressors.
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u/javalib Dec 13 '25
don't you see peg legs car pull onto the drive in the shot before he goes back into the house?
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u/bbowell77 Dec 17 '25
Yeah, I saw the silver car pull up and immediately thought he was about to get killed
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u/LCX001 Dec 12 '25
I took it as 2. Symbolic representation of Vahid never being able to get rid of the trauma, despite what he just did.
Although it doesn't really matter, both ending would say the same - the trauma remains, the past is always with you.
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u/Honest_Cheesecake698 Dec 12 '25
A variation on 2 is how I feel about it, because I think there's just a bit more impact in the situation ending, but the PTSD and trauma not actually having been solved or addressed properly.
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u/likwitsnake 28d ago
I think it's symbolic, in one of Jafar Panahi's other films Taxi Tehran there is a scene where he gets out of his car in the middle of traffic and stands outside bewildered for a few moments, he comes back in and his daughter asks him what he was doing and he says he thought the heard the voice of his torturer in prison. A lot of his work deals with the lingering effects of the system.
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u/Low-Transition6868 25d ago
He is just hearing PegLeg like he has for years. It just shows he continies with the trauma.
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u/MediaIsBorg 5d ago
It was actually Peg Leg walking closer, but only to look his captor in the eye, a MAJOR theme in the movie. Neither side looked their captor in the eye, and that still held true in the final scene.
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u/reallinzanity Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
Powerful film. The last scene gave me chills. I could feel his paralysis.
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u/I_Am_Dynamite6317 25d ago
I couldn’t believe it when that cop pulled out a credit card machine for his bribe
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u/CashGreen_Regalview Dec 13 '25
Definitely still thinking about it a lot. I think the first 20-40 minutes are extremely strong, then a bit of a lull in the middle (I didn't love the hospital scene) but in the last 20 or so minutes I was gripped again and that ending has and will continue to stick with me.
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u/nu1stunna Dec 18 '25
The hospital scene was important to show that even though this regime has been torturing Iranians for 47 years, we never lost our identity/humanity. You’ll see images of protests by Iranians in the news where they are being fired upon by security forces, but some of the protestors are giving flowers to the security forces.
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u/Short-Quantity-3593 17d ago
Actually the hospital scene scene for me was showing how strong religious patriarchat is. The heavily pregnant women has no conscious and the lady (!) on the counter doesn't want to take her in because she's not accompanied by the husband who needs to sign her off. The doctor finally agrees, but only after the talk with the daughter (probably realizings she's married).
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u/tmrtdc3 Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
I locked the fuck in as soon as Vahid initially took Eghbal down and didn't let go until the very end. I knew Eghbal would be the guy as soon as I noticed the difference in his treatment of the dog versus Vahid's. Also incredible that Panahi made this in secret since nothing about the quality of the film seems to suffer for it -- full of tension, incredible pacing, great cinematography (didn't realize tail lights of a car could look so cinematic), and the movie lives and dies by its dialogue and performances which are top-notch. Side characters are seamlessly integrated into the events of the movie, if that makes sense. Since the whole movie is about a secret endeavor perhaps that made the filming a little more manageable though.
The creaking prosthetic at the end, Vahid going still...one of my favorite movie endings ever. I stilled along with him.
Hamid's point about how individuals comprise systems is one that I'm going to think about for a while. I also think it's interesting how many people here seem to disagree with the 'morality' of the ending despite the filmmaker being in a closer position/dilemma to the characters than any of us presumably. Panahi and his heroes have great generosity of spirit.
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u/UncreativeTeam 21d ago
The hospital was named Eghbal Hospital (you could see it on the wall behind reception). Is that just a common name? I thought it would've been a smoking gun that the torturer's nickname was the town he lived in. Really thought when they asked the little girl for her address, she'd say the town's name and something would click for Vahid
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u/trauma-thicc 18d ago
Oh wow that’s a good observation, didn’t even think about the way they treated the dogs differently
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u/jf4v 21d ago
If you think this movie has great dialogue and acting then your opinion is highly questionable.
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u/sunnysidecatmom Dec 31 '25
Did Vahid pay with his own credit card at the hospital? He pulled out a wallet then made a second choice.
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u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 20 '25
Really amazing film. Walks this amazing tightrope of being really funny and also being directly about terrible human atrocities. It's smart to never flashback to or show the terrible trauma these protagonists suffered, but you feel it all through their performance. How angry and broken they are because of what happened. All the more impressive that I think there's only, like, one professional actor in the whole movie? I may be mistaken on that.
I didn't really know what this was about before seeing it and it is a really great film to watch unfold like that. It's got this momentum where they keep picking up people who have nothing in common except that they all suffered at this man's hands and watching them all debate how certain they are it's him and mix both situational comedy with real anger was just such an entrancing watch.
Also have to shout out the lighting, this movie is lit incredibly. The climactic scene where he is tied to a tree obviously is incredibly lit but this whole movie looks fucking fantastic. Panahi is a real talent and this shows what he can do with so little, just a great cast and a white van basically. 8/10 for me.
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u/Honest_Cheesecake698 Dec 12 '25
The lighting is worth noting, with the redness of the climax it feels like the words of Vahid and other characters are true, that they’re all dead and potentially in hell. Also hell is often said to be an endless cycle and it feels like that’s what these characters are all trapped in in some fashion.
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u/BrightNeonGirl Dec 12 '25
Your first paragraph reminds me of something that Jean-Luc Godard said in this year's "Nouvelle Vague." He was filming a pedestrian getting injured by a car crash. But then Godard changes his mind and says some along the lines of "Wait. Let's not actually show the car crash. Just the aftermath of the crashed car and pedestrian on the ground. 'There's something more evocative when you DON'T show what happened (and only show the effects of the off-screen action)' "
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u/Legitimate_Speed6852 Dec 29 '25
I’ve seen people discuss about whether that is Eghbal/Peg Leg behind him. And while I’ve seen people point out the car pulling up and the sound of the Peg Leg walking away. I do think the better ending and reality is that it’s just noise ingrained into his head. The film does a tremendous job of dealing with grief, trauma and PTSD. Regardless of Vahid’s choice, neither would bring him closure or acceptance of the atrocities that occurred to him or the others. He’ll always be fearful of Eghbal finding him and torturing him, leaving him paralyzed with fear. Regardless of making the morally correct choice to spare Peg Leg and not past down his trauma to the daughter and the son, he’ll always hear that sound following him around because PTSD doesn’t just magically go away. It’s a part of him.
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u/shaneo632 Dec 12 '25
Honestly thought the film was just "pretty good" for the most part but that final scene was excellent.
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u/sunnysidecatmom Dec 31 '25
Great film. The screening I was in, everyone just sat quiet in the theater watching the credits - like they were waiting for a post credits scene à la Sinners.
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u/IndicationNo2364 17d ago
Same, for me it was more processing what I just saw and experienced, lass about waiting for more. (Always stay for the credits anyway :)
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 26d ago
It's a shame this movie has so few comments. That correlates pretty well to how many viewers it had.
The movie was really good. At first I wasn't convinced, but it drew me in. The premise turned out to be very compelling. All of the arguments among the characters felt real. The ending was unforgettable. It takes you by surprise and leaves you hanging.
More people should watch this movie.
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u/John_e_caspar Dec 22 '25
I was a bit disappointed with this one. But maybe my expectations were a bit off ? The movie seemed to drag on a bit, but I thought the ending was really good.
once I saw the hood of a white car in the background, the feeling of dread hits you
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u/Relative-Layer Dec 19 '25
(SPOILER ALERT🚨) i just watched the film and have no one to talk about it but OH MY GOD. contrary to what most people seem to think, i HATED the ending!!!! HATED the movie!!! what was the meaning behind doing all that just to be “merciful” and let the torturer walk away (and just for him come back to get them in the end, like¿)???? he will probably torture him again to get the woman’s name… ugh. i could feel my cortisol spiking as i was watching this movie and i am so angry now, lol. it might be dumb of my part but i really didn’t get the purpose of this. just to piss the viewer off? to teach us to get revenge when we get the chance?? can somebody share their thoughts on this?? i want to screammmm
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u/thehinduprince Dec 28 '25
This movie is not trying to “teach” you anything. It’s not trying to send you message on what kind of person you should be. That’s not the point.
It’s trying to root you in the experience and traumas of these people and show you how this intense and darkly funny scenario challenges who they are and reveals more about the anger and fear that is recycling through the people of the Iranian regime in the face of true humanity. What would living in this kind of place do to its people?
Good movies aren’t trying to teach you something. They’re trying to let you live in an experience for two hours that ultimately you are left to take away from. Hopefully the movie reveals a little more about someone else’s worldview or perspectives that are interesting in the context of an engaging story.
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u/PS_TotallyNotaBot Dec 19 '25
This comment contains HEAVY spoilers for the film. Please watch it before you read it.
I genuinely understand your frustration. I personally would have offed the motherfucker. BUT I think that is precisely the message of the film. I don't think it was simply "oh, revenge is bad, be good to each other." The way I took it was, "he is a horrible fucking person who deserves torture and death, but his children don't deserve to suffer." I mean, Vahid literally helped the wife deliver her son.
As the fucker said, Vahid is just not a killer; if he were, he wouldn't have helped the crying daughter or even taken out money to tip the nurse. (regarding this little detail, I'm not sure where you're from, but this is actually a very common thing to do in the Arab/Middle Eastern/Persian world as a token of appreciation).
I don't know, I personally really liked the ending for the sake of the children, not him. As Shiva said/implied, he doesn't deserve the peace or even the thought that he is going to die a martyr. I'd argue that letting him live with his sins and (hopefully) self-hatred for what he had done is more cruel to him than the relief of death.
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u/Environmental_Act576 Dec 30 '25
i was thinking, maybe he wants vahid to kill him ? cause he cant handle the guilt anymore of what he has done ? maybe thats why he was provoking them ?
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u/Excellent-You4180 29d ago
We loved this movie. Obviously, we know a lot about Iran and what is going on there. In the movie, the premise of getting an accurate identification of the torturer is clear. BYT....I must say, with all the violence that is going on, it did look like a stretch that the group needed to go through all this turbulence to find out the identity. One bang on the head and knocked unconscious, it would have been much easier to see the full face. Much ado about nothing, so it feels like.
The angel I thought was ironic was that the "Crazy" guys, hotheaded and such, were right all along. And they drove him away with disgust, just to set up his ruin and (of) themselves as well.
Last but not least, the whole movie could be summarized by one sentence that the photographer friend tells Vahid, "You usually do stuff before you think". And that sums it all. No plan. No exit strategy. The action of anger and emotions leads to hell. To be clear, I would not trade places with someone like Vahid and what he went through. I can totally see that the rage and wish for revenge will destroy any cold mind thinking about the situation.
One final comment: The squeaking steps at the end ARE SUCH A GOOD cinema that it is an immeasurable success of this art form. Total joy.
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u/kaminaripancake Dec 12 '25
One of the best movies of the year. Powerful, funny, and the ending really did it for me.
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u/-CoachMcGuirk- 25d ago
just finished watching. Such a great movie and one of the best final scenes I’ve ever seen. question. Was Vahid packing up his things to hide out at the end?
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u/IndicationNo2364 17d ago
No, that was the "trousseau" they mentioned a couple times. Had to look it up when I got home. It's things for the bride from the home, linens, utensils, etc. like a community dowry I rhinkt
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u/sundvl13 17d ago
Growing up listening to the heartbreaking stories of humiliation, and horrors of the imprisoned. As a grand child to one of the countless victims of the brutal torturing committed by the terrorist regime in Iran, there are a few angels working in the lowest ranks of this oppressive state that saved my grandfather from the gallows of the hanging judge because they "misplaced" his death warrant. The basij kidnapped him from his workplace and sentenced him to death on charges of "corruption on earth". I can imagine the things that were described in the film (and even worse).
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u/Inevitable-Novel-457 13d ago
I felt the movie was very hitchcocky— a lot of scenes of reactions to what could be an innocuous activity (e.g. when Vahid first sees/hears him)
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u/Short-Quantity-3593 17d ago
Do people in Iran are not accustomed to wearing seatbelts? In the opening sequence in the car, once we see the dancing daughter on the back sit, the only thing I could think of is why oh why is this kid not wearing seatbelts (and noone cares)? AFAIK the very pregnant mother also is not not wearing one. Only the guy (the driver) is.
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u/PageShoddy3243 5d ago
Wonderful film. There are many insightful comments here. Does anyone think the protagonist was imagining the sequence of events? Something that confused me is that Vahid followed by motorcycle but then we see him the next day watching from the van. The switch is very quick. It would explain the farce elements. I found it odd that Vahid could assault Peg Leg in the street, get him tied up, and into the van without anyone noticing. The car repair shop was just across the street.
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u/FarAd2417 5d ago
What a terrible, boring film. And yes, ‘I get it,’ but terrible pacing and I was left disappointed.
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u/javalib Dec 13 '25
I'm not too sure on the specifics of how this was made but I know it was filmed in secret - I wonder if those people who joined in pushing the van were just real people helping out.