Yentl

I recommend you see this movie if only for the singing at the end! It is wonderful! I am only a new-comer to Streisand movies, but I loved her in 'The Mirror Has Two Faces', and 'The Prince of Tides'. I saw the end of 'Yentl' when it was on TV a few months ago and absolutely loved the singing, and after seeing 'The Prince of Tides', I had to borrow it out just to see another Streisand movie! 'Yentl' is inspirational, and the singing is great! I recommend it!

A very different type of musical/drama. If you watch unbiased, I think you will find it has a little something for everyone. The film has beautiful direction, wonderful performances, lovely music, some sly humor, and is truly inspirational.

Barbra Streisand had wanted to make this film since 1968, but everyone in the industry told her she was crazy. In 1979, she was still determined to make the film, even if the studio's weren't. She was turned down by every motion picture company at least twice, until finally in the early eighties, MGM/UA picked up the project. Made on a then-above average budget of about $14 million, YENTL was released to mostly positive reviews and eventually grossed a surprisingly strong $50 million in the US alone and did twice as well around the world. The only disappointment is that Streisand was snubbed by Oscar.

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.

"Yentl" is Barbra Streisand's adaption of an Issac Bashevis Singer short story. Set in Eastern Europe at the turn of the century, it tells the story of a woman who must disguise herself as a man in order to study scripture. Along the way she falls in love with a fellow student, Avigdor, who is engaged to be married. Due to a family secret he is prevented from doing so by the bride's father. In a desperate bid to keep him from leaving, Yentl, now known as Anshel, marries her instead.

The story has been modified for the film in that the role of Yentl is somewhat older and her internal dialogue is fleshed out in the form of songs. A sort of musical narrative solely from her perspective.

The opening song "Where Is It Written", the soulful "Papa, Can You Hear Me?", "The Way He Makes Me Feel" and the closing "A Piece of Sky" are some of the stand-out performances. This is Streisand's first directing effort and she was the first woman to win a Golden Globe for it. She pulls solid performances from everyone and tells her story with a fresh sense of style rarely seen in film today. There are moments when Streisand lingers a bit long to make sure you "feel" what she is trying to convey. Her subsequent directorial efforts, the 1991 "The Prince of Tides" and the 1996 "The Mirror Has Two Faces" are more fluid. Avigdor's concern over his affection for "Anshel" is not adequately explored, but the "girl marries girl" theme is approached with great humor and tact.

For music fans, check out the "Yentl Medley" from the 1994 "Barbra - The Concert" and the soundtrack album, which contains studio versions of "The Way He Makes Me Feel" and 'No Matter What Happens". Her 1991 box set "Just For the Record" includes "The Moon and I" which was written for this film but never used.

At the end, Streisand dedicates this film to her father, and all our fathers... I'm sure he would be very proud.

*Academy Award for Best Score* *Grammy nominations for TWO songs*

To learn that Barbra Streisand not only starred in this movie but also directed it is quite startling. She is clearly a multitalented powerhouse. A voice, acting talent and an ability to direct a film.

I thought her voice really lent itself to the film. It was also a welcome reprieve from the heavy dialogue about Jewish philosophy or whatever it was they were studying.

The main characters all deserve accolades. Mandy Patinkin as Avigdor is able to channel his masculinity with so much strength. The anger he exhibits during his rages feels raw and unrestrained. There is a palpable tension between him and Barbra throughout the movie as one questions where the story is actually going. I thought that perhaps his attraction to Hental might lead into an LGBT storyline of gay love but where it actually went was just as good.

Amy Irving, the irresistable Hadass, is enchanting and showcases an enormous talent of emotional capacity in her relationship with Anshel. Her attraction to Anshel comes off as incredibly authentic, which is a feat considering the fact that Anshel isn't a man at all.

The movie has enormous charm in the set design alone. There is beauty in the way the tables are laid and it is clear that so much attention was paid to the small details that combine to create a believable Eastern European environment.

One gripe that I do have with the film is that Barbra does not make for a believable man. At all. It's one thing for all of the men in the movie to believe she is a man, but it's another thing for all the women to, especially her "wife". In reality, women (and most men, I would expect), would be able to clock her from a mile away. Yet, she does do the role justice with her incredible voice and her acting is admirable as well.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable film that I think challenges a lot of notions about women but also about the camaraderie between men and expectations in marriage.