‘Rehearsals for a Revolution’ Review: A Perceptive, Poignant Chronicle of Great Hopes and Even Greater Disappointments

Prominent Iranian actress-turned-docmaker Pegah Ahangarani offers her compelling personal perspective on Iran and its discontents. 

By Alissa Simon

Alissa Simon

Film Critic

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Rich in political and cultural resonance as well as contemporary relevance, the documentary essay “Rehearsals for a Revolution” marks a promising feature debut for Iranian actress-turned-helmer Pegah Ahangarani. Her compelling personal perspective on 40-plus years of post-Revolutionary Iran provides a chronicle of great hopes and even greater disappointments. In it, she plays with the Iranian concept of yād, which encompasses both memory and how the past returns to mark the present. A quality choice for festivals and broadcasters, it is especially notable for the abundant visual and aural archives she accesses, the poetic, allusive editing and her beautifully modulated narration.

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