Neon has been the king of winning the Palm d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most renowned and celebrated film festivals in the world. A Neon film has won the coveted award for the past six years, with films like Anatomy of a Fall and Anora eventually taking home some of the biggest awards at the Oscars. Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident is the latest Palm d’Or winner that Neon acquired, and looks to be another major Oscar contender for the studio.

It Was Just an Accident follows a group of strangers who were previously political prisoners of the Iranian government. After one of the political prisoners, Vahid, played by Vahid Mobasseri, spots a man whom he assumes is one of the tormentors from his prison, he kidnaps him. Having doubts about whether he is the tormentor who ruined his life, he meets up with other previous political prisoners to see if the man is who he thinks he is. What follows is a chain of events that brings ever-growing problems to everyone involved.

The opening sequence perfectly sets up the film’s dark undertones while exploring the central themes of justice, fate, and consequences. The scene follows a man, who is eventually kidnapped by the political prisoners, with his wife and daughter, who accidentally run over a dog with his car. The daughter is saddened by the dog getting killed, and the man attempts to calm her down, stating that things happen in life that we will never understand. As well as name-dropping the film’s title, this sequence effectively sets up the man’s morally grey areas while conveying the difficulty of processing trauma and pursuing healing. The title It Was Just an Accident not only serves as a lame excuse for the man who causes harm at the beginning of the film, but also suggests irony, suggesting that all the events in the movie were random mishaps rather than the result of the corrupt Iranian government.

Although the film’s minimal, indie production value may suggest it was easier to make, the opposite was true. Like the characters in his movie, director Jafar Panahi was a political prisoner in Iran for criticizing his government through his films. Because of this, he has had an extremely difficult time making films, including his previous film, No Bears, which was made while he was on house arrest. While he wasn’t on house arrest for making It Was Just an Accident, he did have to make it in secret, partnering with France and Luxembourg to fund and produce it. Despite having a target on his back from the Iranian government as well as not having a permit, Panahi still filmed the movie in Iran. It is clear throughout the movie that it was filmed in secret due to its extensive long takes, natural lighting, and limited locations, but luckily, these aspects never detracted from the movie; instead, they made the experience far more powerful.

The film’s plot may seem like a nonstop crime thriller, but it plays far more naturally. The characters never do anything out of the ordinary, which helps ground the film emotionally while expressing what living life under the Iranian regime is like. Panahi uses the long take not only to hide that they are filming in secret, but also to allow the actors to give authentic portrayals of their characters. By sitting with the characters without cutting, the actors can fully realize their characters, including multiple monologues in the desert where they discuss their experiences as political prisoners, which stand among the year’s most moving sequences. The film touches upon the idea of acting on emotion versus intellect, and that idea is captured beautifully through the performances from the ensemble.

Although It Was Just an Accident delves into heavy and tragic themes, it isn’t afraid to sprinkle in moments of humor. The film playfully explores the absurdity of random strangers kidnapping a political officer, with sequences in which the characters hide their faces from the kidnapped man, releasing the film’s tension in all the best ways. For a film this dedicated to depicting the dark reality of living in Iran, it would’ve been easy to fall into melodrama, but Panahi crafts it in a way that is both entertaining and impactful.

Each of the political prisoners — Shiva (Mariam Afshari), Goli (Hadis Pakbaten), Ali (Majid Panahi), and Hamid (Mohamed Ali Elyasmehr) — has their own perspectives on the kidnapping and how much they want to get involved, making it an intellectually enriching experience. Ranging from a couple who ditch their wedding pictures to get involved in the kidnapping to someone who accidentally finds themselves in their situation, seeing the different perspectives of Vahid’s criminal act perfectly conveys the wide range of perspectives that Iranian’s have on their country. The characters are also given horrific backstories about their experiences being political prisoners, with numerous heartbreaking monologues that give the film stronger emotional weight. Seeing them figure out the correct path of justice and the consequences that could ensue makes for an extremely engaging conflict, all because of the Oscar-worthy screenwriting from Panahi

The entire 100 minutes of the film deliver high thrills and emotion, but it’s the last couple of minutes that leave the biggest impact. Through its eerie sound design, the film harkens back to an aspect discussed earlier, which hauntingly ends the film. Although it leaves the audience to interpret the ending themselves, Panahi’s overall execution of the scene and the themes discussed make it one of the strongest movie endings of 2025.

It Was Just an Accident was not only one of the hardest movies to make in 2025 but also one of the best of the year. Borrowing from Panahi’s own experience as a political prisoner, the film expertly conveys his conflicted feelings toward his country while also making a movie Western audiences can enjoy. When it comes to filmmaking achievements in 2025, there aren’t many that surpass what Panahi accomplishes in his film.

It Was Just an Accident played as a Special Presentation at the Heartland International Film Festival. It is now playing in select theaters around the country.

Rating: 9/10

Oscar Prospects:

Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, Best Casting