Yentl

Barbra Streisand has referred to herself as 'an actress who happens to be a singer'. I doubt I am alone in viewing her professional legacy in the reverse: as a great singer who happens to be an actress . . . director, producer, screenplay writer, musical score composer, humanitarian, and lately, concerned with using her production and direction talents to bring out important social issues (like ageism--"The Living Century" is about centurions--people a hundred years old or more).

"Yentl" marks the beginning of a woman blazing a new trail as a director, singer, composer, her hands in the screenplay, and production. She's spoken in a segment on "The Directors," about how various cultures have treated her as a result of her deliberate transcendence of Hollywood's gender-biased boundaries. One of her most interesting points reveals how well she was treated in England by the British filming crew. Since gender-bias against women is not even comparable to gender bias in the US, because England is so far advanced beyond gender discrimination because one is a woman, Streisand remarks how much easier it was for her to accomplish her goals on the set because the British film crew treated her without gender-bias, and with the respect she is certainly due.

"Yentl" royally upset the AFI in the US because Streisand entered into no woman's land when she had a hand in nearly every aspect of the motion picture. "Yentl" has some of the most memorable, touching, humanely familiar music and lyrics, yet it received no Academy Award. The direction was brilliant--no Academy Award. The screenplay was one that was serious, hilarious, religious, spiritual, and even addressed the issues of gender-bias head on--no Academy Award. Streisand's and Amy Irving's acting was stupendous--no Academy Award.

Streisand paved the way and took the non-recognition by the Film Academy without stopping. This musical motional picture pales many that are classics. The story is an extra interesting one, the likes of which have not been reproduced with anything close to as much skill and class.

I'll give this classic about six Academy Awards, including several that go to Streisand alone.

I discovered this film recently when it came out on DVD in France at a knock-down price. Picture quality is no more than average and seems to have a little over-dominance of sepia. I assume the film was originally destined for a Jewish audience as many of the references contained therein concern the Jewish religion of which I know nothing ! All that said, I was very very satisfied with this film, Barbra Steisand gave a magnificent performance, you could see that she put her heart into this, apart from being really cute, her voice and songs were magnificent. There's also quite a lot of humour and potentially embarrassing situations which is normal, given the fairly original plot line. I think that the end is a satisfying one indeed the only satisfying one possible. I know little about Jewish culture but do, as an "outsider" find it attractive. Indeed this may indeed be a prerequisite to fully appreciate this film.

You may love her or hate but the truth should be admitted - Streisand is an extremely talented artist. "Yentl' is her baby of directing, producing, co-writing and starring as a girl who wants to study and become a rabbi and who has to disguise herself as a boy to be accepted in a college. Streisand had fought the studio for 15 years to get it made, and she put her heart into this. Barbra is a gifted director, and the film is beautifully shot. I liked her acting - I thought she was convincing and touching when her character started to fall in love with a fellow student (very appealing Mandy Patinkin, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father: prepare to die" of "The Princess Bride") and had to hide her feelings. I also like her singing and I think that the songs belong to the film and can not be taken out of the context.

7.5/10

I'll be the first to admit that Barbra Streisand is not my favorite performer--I can take her or leave her, depending on my mood. However, I enjoyed Yentl immensely, despite its flaws.

First of all, the music is magnificent. Michel Legrand wrote songs that are both perfect for the movie and can be taken out of context as concert material (some of them, anyway--"Papa, Can You Hear Me?" is somewhat of a stretch). However, I was supremely disappointed that Mandy Patinkin doesn't sing a note in this movie. Obviously, the movie was meant for Barbra--it was HER baby--but still. Why cast Mandy as your leading man (and he was very appealing, I must say) in a "movie-musical" and not write a single song for him? Gah.

And to everyone who says that the movie is not credible because Barbra could never pass as a man, I say listen to the soundtrack. There's a lyric in "Tomorrow Night" (the one about her wedding to Hadass) that says "They may have eyes but they don't see,/They never really look at me./People are blind!/How else would everyone believe me?" Yentl didn't think that her plan would ever work, but people are easily deceived by her man's clothing.

Anyway. I liked this movie very much, and I certainly recommend it, but I can see how, if one can't stomach Barbra Streisand, it might be a bit jarring and obnoxious.

Despite an ostensibly somber tone and an autumnal look that gives the film a burnished coffee-table feel, Barbra Streisand's directorial debut "Yentl", about a turn-of-the-century Jewish girl disguising herself as a boy to study the Talmud (religious writings for men only), has a lot of heart, a romantic soul and a ticklish sense of humor. Streisand's strengths as an actress are never more apparent, and as a director she's thoughtful and careful, though perhaps too anxious to display her sentiment (leading to a woebegone conclusion which peaks and ebbs before the fade-out). Streisand is the only actor who sings, and the songs--though mostly ornate and melodramatic--are cleverly interwoven into the narrative. The final number (something about rebelling against "a piece of sky") is simply too much, but Barbra is in strong, assured voice throughout and she gets wonderful acting support from Mandy Patinkin (in arguably his finest performance, which should have netted an Oscar nomination) and Amy Irving (who did receive an Oscar nod). An enjoyable film with a surprisingly light-hearted quality which catches one off-guard. *** from ****