Film Review: Yentl (1983)

While anyone in Hollywood claims to be a feminist, only a few can back up such claims with actual deeds. One member of that rare group is famous singer and actress Barbra Streisand whose celebrated directorial debut, 1983 musical Yentl, wasn’t just an explicitly feminist film but also the most personal film in her career.

The film is based on Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy, short story by Polish Jewish writer Isaac Bashevish Singer. The plot begins in 1904 Eastern Poland, in a small Jewish township where the protagonist, young woman named Yentl Mendel (played by Streisand) studies Talmud with the help of her father Rebbe Mendel (played by Nehemiah Persof), despite women’s pursuit of such knowledge being banned by Orthodox Jewish tradition. After father’s death Yentl wants to continue her Talmudic studies in yeshiva and, in order to be accepted, begins to dress like boy and names herself “Anshell”. There she meets and befriends fellow student Avigdor (played by Mandy Patinkin). She is soon tested not by her own romantic feelings towards handsome man, but also due to Avigdor’s own romantic problems. Despite requited love to beautiful Hadass Wishkover (played by Amy Irving), Avigdor can’t marry her because her parents think of him as a bad match because his brother’s suicide. Yentl gets an idea to help his friend by marrying Hadass instead and thus allowing Avigdor to visit her under the guise of visiting friend. The plan works and Yentl gets married, but the ruse is threatened when Hadass begins insisting on their marriage being consummated.

Barbra Streisand was trying to adapt Singer’s text for fifteen years and during that long process she was increasingly taking more and more functions at the production, ending as the film’s main star, director, co-producer and co-writer. The result is impressive and very personal film in which Streisand bravely employs some risky creative choices that mostly pay off. The most noticeable is the adaptation in the form of musical, which would allow Streisand to show her great singing talent (and later win Oscar for Best Song). As a director, Streisand is quite capable and she confidently recreates long-lost Jewish world of Eastern Europe by using likeable Czehoslovak locations and English studios. As an actress, she easily deals with the complexities of a 40-year old woman playing 26-year old girl that pretends to be teenage boy. Mandy Patinkin is equally effective as her friend who is at the same time object of her suppressed lust. Amy Irving, on the other hand, doesn’t leave much impression as a demure, feminine future wife who quietly accepts her social roles.

While gender-bending plot might look like it was tailored-made for today’s “queer” Hollywood, Yentl is in term of sexual politics quite conservative film. All characters are and remain strictly heterosexual and Avigdor is supposed to find his happiness in the form of traditional marriage. Situations and issues that arise from Yentl’s ruse are handled seriously and without resort to cheap comedy, except in the scene when “Anshell” has to see Avigdor and other male students enjoying swimming and sunbathing in the nude by the river. However, all this effort wasn’t without some serious flaws. The most obvious is in all of the songs being sung by Streisand and their lyrics serving as Yentl’s internal monologue. Those songs are often song over the actual dialogues which, at times, might lead to confusion. To make things worse, music by Michel Legrand isn’t particularly memorable, and that is something that should not happen to a musical. Streisand tries to compensate with some sort of memorable ending, in which she her character enthusiastically sings at the ship overcrowded with immigrants that presumably sails to a new promised land of America. This ending, which was very different from Singer’s story (and Singer himself was very angry at the Streisand for that reason), tries to add fairytale quality what was otherwise very realistic tale. The critics disagreed with Singer as well as the audience at the box office. Streisand had her effort rewarded by being first woman to win Golden Globe for Best Director. In the end, despite some flaws, Yentl is mostly effective and entertaining film that could be recommended even to audience who doesn’t like musicals or don’t care for films made when feminism actually meant something.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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