Yentl (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
1983's musical drama 'Yentl' is Barbra Streisand's 10 yr-long labor of love. Streisand plays the titular Yentl, a young Ashkenazi Jewish woman in Eastern Europe circa 1904 who finds the traditional role for women in her culture to be wholly unacceptable. Females were not allowed to study the Torah in the orthodox Jewish religion. Rather than living a submissive life as a wife, mother & homemaker, Yentl's great thirst for knowledge, for debate, to study Talmudic Law, & for a life of the mind is boundless. When her beloved father, Torah scholar (Nehemiah Persoff) dies after an illness and she is left all on her own, Yentl tackles a brave, but rash undertaking in disguising herself as a young man; so as to be the person she'd always wanted to be.
To that, she changes her name to Anshel, travels far, & becomes a student; surrounded by rabbis & intellectual Jewish scholars with no suspicion of her gender. However, Yentl soon falls for one such scholar, the congenial, good-natured Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), a brilliant Jewish man, who is wildly in love with his girlfriend, Hadass (Amy Irving, in an Academy Award-nominated supporting role). To THAT, Hadass finds herself drawn to Anshel/Yentl ... the new boy in town. When Hadass' father forbids her to marry Avigdor, he schemes to have his 'buddy' Anshel marry Hadass, just so that he could be near her. Tension mounts & complications ensue as Yentl must eventually reveal her truth; all set to many a fine song for Streisand to sing.
Barbra Streisand's 1st film as a director is a meticulous, passionate effort, for sure, and her efforts enabled her to become the 1st female to win a Golden Globe for Best Director. Not only did she direct & star, but she also co-produced & co-wrote it -- to say she was invested in this story is an understatement. This movie has its charming moments, some laudable performances, & pays great attention to the period detail of an Eastern European culture destroyed years later by the devastating Holocaust. I also loved its overarching theme of the human desire to reach one's maximum potential.
I can't say that the film is a masterpiece, though. At over 2 hours in length, it feels longer than the story merits; with several dead spots sprinkled throughout, or the odd meh song. But on the whole, I quite enjoyed the music. Michael Legrand won an Academy Award for his score, and with Alan & Marilyn Bergman, wrote a plethora of lovely songs. Two of the best are "Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way?" {gorgeousss in context of the plot}, and the stunning "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" - which is reprised in the very end for a thoroughly rousing, goosebump-inducing sequence that made me want to leap out of my seat.
Barbra Streisand gives a sincere & appealing performance; putting forth a valiant effort in this personal film that clearly meant so much to her. Amy Irving & Mandy Patinkin give earnest portrayals as Yentl's fiancee, Hadass Vishkower, & Yentl's love interest, Avigdor. Along with the theme of maximizing your potential, 'Yentl' intriguingly blurs the lines btwn. male & female and, due to the plot machinations, its characters develop attractions that unknowingly tie them to the same gender. 'Yentl' became a solid hit, had some Oscar success, and Streisand's iconic voice is as extraordinary as ever. The film has its overwrought & absurd moments, but on the whole, is a richly enjoyable, thought-provoking entertainment with admirable integrity.
To that, she changes her name to Anshel, travels far, & becomes a student; surrounded by rabbis & intellectual Jewish scholars with no suspicion of her gender. However, Yentl soon falls for one such scholar, the congenial, good-natured Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), a brilliant Jewish man, who is wildly in love with his girlfriend, Hadass (Amy Irving, in an Academy Award-nominated supporting role). To THAT, Hadass finds herself drawn to Anshel/Yentl ... the new boy in town. When Hadass' father forbids her to marry Avigdor, he schemes to have his 'buddy' Anshel marry Hadass, just so that he could be near her. Tension mounts & complications ensue as Yentl must eventually reveal her truth; all set to many a fine song for Streisand to sing.
Barbra Streisand's 1st film as a director is a meticulous, passionate effort, for sure, and her efforts enabled her to become the 1st female to win a Golden Globe for Best Director. Not only did she direct & star, but she also co-produced & co-wrote it -- to say she was invested in this story is an understatement. This movie has its charming moments, some laudable performances, & pays great attention to the period detail of an Eastern European culture destroyed years later by the devastating Holocaust. I also loved its overarching theme of the human desire to reach one's maximum potential.
I can't say that the film is a masterpiece, though. At over 2 hours in length, it feels longer than the story merits; with several dead spots sprinkled throughout, or the odd meh song. But on the whole, I quite enjoyed the music. Michael Legrand won an Academy Award for his score, and with Alan & Marilyn Bergman, wrote a plethora of lovely songs. Two of the best are "Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way?" {gorgeousss in context of the plot}, and the stunning "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" - which is reprised in the very end for a thoroughly rousing, goosebump-inducing sequence that made me want to leap out of my seat.
Barbra Streisand gives a sincere & appealing performance; putting forth a valiant effort in this personal film that clearly meant so much to her. Amy Irving & Mandy Patinkin give earnest portrayals as Yentl's fiancee, Hadass Vishkower, & Yentl's love interest, Avigdor. Along with the theme of maximizing your potential, 'Yentl' intriguingly blurs the lines btwn. male & female and, due to the plot machinations, its characters develop attractions that unknowingly tie them to the same gender. 'Yentl' became a solid hit, had some Oscar success, and Streisand's iconic voice is as extraordinary as ever. The film has its overwrought & absurd moments, but on the whole, is a richly enjoyable, thought-provoking entertainment with admirable integrity.