Scholars of Iran generally divide the post-Revolutionary period into two parts, focusing much of their work on either the Islamic Republic under Khomeini (1979-1989) or the Reformist movement and Khatami’s presidency (1997-2005). However, scholarship has thus far neglected to consider the reconfiguration of commitment to the Revolution during the first period into a set of Reformist policies that diverge considerably from the original ideals of the Republic. At what point, then, did the Revolutionary fervor begin to subside and disillusionment set in? This paper seeks to address this question by examining two individuals, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Mohammad Khatami, who played important roles in both periods. More specifically, it attempts to probe their positions in a series of debates that emerged in Iranian newspapers following the release of Nawbat-e ‘asheqi [Time for Love], a controversial film written and directed by Makhmalbaf in 1991. This approach will ultimately allow me to position the Nawbat-e ‘asheqi episode as an early sign of the Revolutionary discontent that emerges more fully several years later and in turn suggest that it represents a pivotal moment in the transition from Revolutionary to Reformist policy. At the core of this project—and at the core of the debates it studies—is the question of who controls art in Iran. The film industry proves fruitful to this discussion because the Islamic Republic, through censorship and subsidies, plays a significant role in the production movies. However, this system gives rise to questions about categorization—should a film be considered the director’s work or does it, in part, belong to the government? Who, then, is accountable for its controversial release? This paper is concerned with public perceptions and takes as a case study the Iranian responses to these kinds of concerns in their reactions to the movie Nawbat-e ‘asheqi. It examines a wide-range of articles that were published about the film in Iranian newspapers during the spring of 1991 to chart the debate as it evolved from a reaction to a particular movie into a full-force critique of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. This debate and the popular opinions it conveys serve as points of resistance, against which we might situate Makhmalbaf and Khatami. A detailed analysis of this debate and the shifts in its trajectory will, therefore, illuminate emerging fissures and rising discontent among those individuals charged with the creation and regulation of art in the early 1990s.