A highly original,dynamic epic, and ultimately a profoundly moving portrayal oftwentieth-century Turkish political and social history from the momentof independence to the nineties. Its mise-en-scène choreographedas a ballet and opera, Walking on Fire works on many levels. Ostensiblyit is a series of rehearsals for an historical play which culminate in aperformance before an audience. But the offstage lives of both actorsand audience members intertwine with the play, and are a microcosm ofthe larger events on stage; they echo the ongoing conflicts representedby successive government upheavals, cycles of protest, rebellion,military coups, repression, and struggles for democratic reform. Asociety in chaos, grappling with an identity crisis between the West andEast, bouncing between hope and cynical resignation is the pervasivetheme on stage and in the wings. All the while, a group of actors, likea classical Greek chorus, watch and comment on the passing events andthe future, engaging the film's audience as fellow witnesses.-EdithKramer