Yentl

Released 1983
Stars Stars Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving
Directed by Barbra Streisand
Reviewed June 23, 1998

Right off the bat I must say I'm not a fan of either Barbra Streisand or musicals, but I loved this movie. It's set in Eastern Europe in 1908, and it's the story of a young woman named Yentl (Barbra Streisand) who wants to be a religious scholar. This is not possible, however, in a country and time when women are kept strictly in their place, which is essentially as servants.

Yentl's mother and brother died when she was young, and she was raised alone by her father (Nehemiah Persoff), who was a religious scholar. As the film opens, we realize he's not happy with the job he did. He loves her dearly, but he didn't know how to raise a daughter. Instead of teaching her to cook and sew, he taught her the Talmud. This was a terrible indiscretion in a society that still believed in "evil eyes" and witches. Not only was it wrong for a woman to study, some of the locals believed a woman who studied the Talmud was a demon. In retrospect, her father felt he taught her too much, and yet too little.

This doesn't deter Yentl, who is a headstrong woman filled with a burning desire for knowledge and debate. Since her society doesn't allow her either, her only option is to study privately with her father. There's a wonderful scene at the beginning of the film where they close the shutters and curtains, and Yentl asks her father, "We don't have to hide my studying from God. Then why from the neighbors?" He replies, "Why? Because I trust God will understand. I'm not so sure about the neighbors."

Shortly after the film opens, Yentl's father passes away. She's crushed. He was everything to her. Several women from the village descend upon her home to help her move on with her life. They mean well, but they also wish to put this young woman into her proper place. They know what she's been doing, and it rankles them. Yentl doesn't want to be confined to a woman's role, however, so she does something drastic. If the only way to be a scholar is to be a man, then she'll be a man. She cuts her hair, dresses in her father's clothes, and dons her father's eyeglasses. She sets out for a new town where there's a Yeshiva (a Jewish school for priests). When the Rabbi tests her, he finds her to be very advanced and pairs her with one of his top students, Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin).

All of this is the setup for the film, which is about women's roles, religion, and love. Until Yentl is able to study at the Yeshiva, she's never been able to think about love. Once she's a student, however, she's able to satisfy her hunger for knowledge. For the first time, she's treated as an equal by men, which in turn causes her to feel the attraction toward a man she has never felt before. She falls in love. She knows, of course, she can't have both love and study, but she can't give up hope for either. All of this leads to a bizarre love triangle that goes further than she thought possible.

Avigdor is her study partner, and he's perfectly portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. Mandy's known mostly as an actor/singer who stars in musicals, but he doesn't sing in this film. In fact, only Barbra sings. Furthermore, with the exception of the ending, Yentl only sings when alone onscreen. The film seamlessly integrates the songs into the scenes by playing them on top of the dialogue. While a scene is in progress, the music rises above the dialogue to tell us what Yentl is thinking or feeling. Only when she's alone does she actually sing with the song. If she sings too loudly, people in the other room (like the tailors) hear her. This makes the film much more powerful and realistic. I've never seen a musical treat the music this way, and I loved it. 

The first time I saw this film, I started watching it as a lark, but I was quickly hooked. One reason I suppose is because it shows the loss of a parent in such a touching way. Unfortunately, this is something I understand all too well, and I was deeply moved. Yentl talks to her father throughout the film, wondering "what he would think of her now." The one scene I always think of is when she looks to the stars at night and sings "Papa, can you hear me?" It ends with the line, "Papa, how I miss you kissing me goodnight."

I know that feeling.

Reviewed by Bill Alward  Home
 
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