Review of Yentl (1983) by Barbara D — 26 Oct 2010

Ah, "Yentl". Where have you been? "Yentl" is yet another one of those films that makes me wonder how I've gone so long without seeing it. It's engaging, brilliantly written and directed, has spectacular casting and of course, the wonderful Ms Striesand never fails to disappoint. I can see why "Yentl" is such a classic, but does that mean that it's perfect? Of course not, but I'll explain why later.

"Yentl" is based on a short story named "Yentl The Yeshiva Boy" by Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. The story is about a young Jewish lady named Yentl who lives in an Orthodox village in Eastern Europe. She wants nothing more than to study the Talmud, but according to Orthodox tradition, she is forbidden to do so because she is a woman. After her father dies, she decides to take matters into her own hands by dressing as a man and going to a yeshiva to study the same way that a man would. While she initially adores studying, things begin to spiral out of control when she finds herself falling for one of her male friends.

The concept of a woman dressing as a man in order to do something that women are forbidden to do has been done many times before in literature. "Yentl" however gives it something new and refreshing with a strong script, brilliant music and lovable characters. Streisand is especially wonderful as Yentl/Anshel, who is a feminist without being a stereotypical man-hater or a bra-burner(after all, this was set several decades before womens liberation). I really sympathised with her character for wanting so much to study, but being trapped in a world that views women as second class citizens. Poor Yentl, she's never heard of a wonderful thing called Reform Judaism. Apart from Streisand, Mandy Patinkin is also brilliant as Avigdor who may have his faults, but is an interesting, three-dimensional character. He also proves that he is a diverse actor because not once did I watch his acting and think, "This is Inigo Montoya!" I also loved Amy Irving as Hadass, who was rightfully nominated for an Oscar. She appeared to be a representation of the submissive women of the era and for that reason, I also really sympathised with her. In general, one of the great things about this movie is that it's feminist, but it's not in-your-face nor is it preachy. Margaret Atwood, are you listening?

The music was also spectacular, with an Oscar-winning score and terrific songs. My favourites were "Papa Can You Hear Me" and "The Way He Makes Me Feel" which were both nominated for Oscars. Streisand, in my opinion, is one of the greatest entertainers that this industry has ever seen, and it especially shows with her emotive performances of these songs. The soundtrack was great, but it does lead to my major problem with "Yentl".

While Striesand may be a talented triple-threat, I was disappointed about the fact that the film is classed as a musical and yet she's the only one who sings in it. Many people were also disappointed with the fact that Mandy Patinkin doesn't sing in it. I've never heard him sing, but apparently he's brilliant. Anyway, although I love Striesand, it did seem like the whole idea of her singing the entire soundtrack was not necessarily to showcase her talents, but more as a symbol of her ego. Apparently she's known for being stuck-up and egotistical, which really pains me to mention because she's so talented. In my opinion, this was what prevented "Yentl" from being a five-star film. It also irritated me how the setting is only known as "Eastern Europe" and it is never specified which country it's in. Why not Poland, Ukraine or Russia (and yes, I know that Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire at the time)? Those were all countries that had significant Jewish populations at the time, especially Poland. After all, the writer of the short story was Polish, so naturally that would've been the perfect setting.

The ironic thing is that although Striesand may have a massive ego, that fault is sort of redeemed by the fact that she is so talented. As a whole, "Yentl" is a great film, but it would've been even greater if they had had other people singing besides Streisand. If they had done that (and set it in a specific country), "Yentl" would've been a five-star film.