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With the wrap of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, there is one particular movie that stood out. The movie being referred to here is none other than It Was Just an Accident. The tense, emotionally charged thriller won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest honor, making headlines across the globe. The film is directed by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who has long been renowned for his bravery and defiance. And now his movie has joined the likes of Parasite and Pulp Fiction, cementing its place in cinematic history and going beyond mere critical acclaim.
What Is It Was Just An Accident About?
The movie, which is set in modern-day Iran, centers on Eghbal, a driver with a young daughter and a pregnant wife. The story kicks off when a late-night encounter turns into a nightmare. A minor incident gradually turns into a tense, psychological confrontation when a former political prisoner kidnaps Eghbal because he thinks he is the same man who tortured him in the past. The kidnapper, Vahid, uncertain of the man’s identity but haunted by his past, gathers fellow survivors as they drive around debating vengeance, justice, and morality.
Jafar Panahi Undermined Iranian Laws To Continue His Filmmaking
With intense, unwavering precision, Panahi creates this moral labyrinth. Under the specter of censorship, he is incredibly skilled at fusing personal suffering with more general political commentary. Panahi persevered, making the movie secretly with a pared-down cast and crew, despite a 15-year ban on filmmaking and jail sentences. His defiance and his art are the same, both worthy of acknowledgement and acclaim.
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