Jafar Panahi’s film at the Exhibition denounces authoritarianism – 10/15/2025 – Cinema

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Despite the strong campaign that “The Secret Agent” is already making for a second international film Oscar for Brazil, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film must have the same stone that entered its shoes at the Cannes Film Festival: Jafar Panahi.

Winner of the Palme d’Or, the Iranian filmmaker’s new film is one of the highlights of this edition of the 49th Mostra and will represent France at the American awards. Panahi is also one of the guests at the event, and will be in São Paulo to present the film.

“It Was Just an Accident” follows Panahi’s cinematic guide. It is a contained drama, which achieves humor and political strength without resorting to flashy moments.

It’s hard to watch, like much of the Iranian’s cinematography, who is used to weaving his country’s political mishaps into his stories. They are also personal dramas, as they often denounce, as in the case of “It Was Just an Accident”, an authoritarianism of which Panahi is a major victim — he was once arrested and prevented from leaving Iran for allegedly filming anti-nationalist propaganda.

“The most important thing now is the freedom of our country. The time has come to join forces. Cinema is a society. Nobody has the right to tell us what to film”, said the Iranian when thanking him for the Palme d’Or. The film follows a group of former political prisoners who, years after suffering psychological and physical torture in prison, believe they have met their tormentor again.

It all happens when the group leader hears, at the mechanics where he works, the creaking of the prosthesis that replaces a client’s leg. The noise is the same as that made by the man who arrested him, but, uncertain about his identity, the protagonist looks for other victims to try to resolve the doubt and, who knows, get revenge.

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Characters or the audience are never sure if that man is one of the brutal repression agents or if everything is just a mistake.

With the Palme d’Or, Panahi completed the triad of top prizes at the main European festivals. He had already received the Golden Bear, in Berlin, for “Táxi Tehran”; and the Golden Lion, in Venice, for “The Circle”.