The mundane act of a car breaking down one night on a road in Iran sets in motion one of the most moving movies of the year in “It Was Just an Accident.”

The sputtering car comes to a stop outside a business. The driver comes out and asks those inside for help. He’s just trying to get his pregnant wife and precocious young daughter home.

But inside there’s someone who thinks he recognizes this soon-to-be father of two from a past life. He’s convinced that the guy was the same intelligence officer who tortured him for years in prison. Now is the time for revenge.

Written and directed by Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” is obviously dark and yet wickedly funny, existential and very, very human as it explores the ripple effects from state violence and asks if forgiveness can ever be

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