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Plot Synopsis

Barbra Streisand's directorial debut, Yentl, is a musical adaptation of a story by the beloved Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. Yentl (Streisand) is a young woman who wants nothing more than to study religious scripture. She is denied that possibility because she is a woman. She moves, passes herself off as a male named Anshel, and then begins her studies. She becomes close to fellow student Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), eventually falling in love with him, although she can not reveal her true self as she would then be expelled. Avigdor is in love with Hadass (Amy Irving), but religious law forbids him from marrying her. Avigdor attempts to fix Anshel up with Hadass, leading to Hadass falling in love with Anshel. Yentl received four Academy Award nominations, including two Best Song nods. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Editorial Reviews:

Barbra Streisand's first directorial effort, Yentl, was met with wildly divergent reviews, with some viewing it as a deeply moving work of art and others deriding it as a ridiculous vanity production that played fast and loose with the Isaac Bashevis Singer story upon which it is based. There's plenty of evidence for both points of view. Detractors can point to an abundance of close-ups for the star, a story line which gives short shrift to the other characters and a score that is sung totally by Streisand. Proponents can counter that the narrow focus is appropriate to the story, that the director draws forth expert performances from Amy Irving and Mandy Patinkin and that the film's defects are made up for by some exceptional cinematography (including a marvelous swirling camera in "Tomorrow Night"), beautiful design, and skillful staging of the musical sequences. The truth is that both sides are right, that Yentl is a fascinating but flawed and uneven film that both benefited from and was damaged by its creator's deeply personal feelings about and interpretation of the material. The attachment Streisand feels to the movie is clear in every frame, but she therefore is unable to distance herself enough to view her work (in all departments) objectively. In addition to the flaws cited above, the movie is overlong, and many of the lyrics are awkward or banal. As usual, Streisand is in spectacular voice, and she acts with great commitment. Critics were generally more receptive to her next directorial effort, The Prince of Tides, which received a Best Picture Oscar nomination. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide