Poland. 1904. Barbra wants to study Talmud but it’s forbidden for women. So she poses as a young man and joins a religious school to study in disguise. She befriends a fellow student called Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), who she connects with both academically and emotionally. She falls in love with him, even though he believes she’s a boy. Plus, he’s engaged to marry a woman (Amy Irving).
Unsurprisingly, the situation soon gets messy. There are comic elements, which escalate as the love triangle becomes increasingly complex. The ending disappoints because it seems to be a cop out. Why does Yentl have to choose between love and her studies? If she’s as forward-thinking, intelligent and passionately in love as the film suggests, can’t she find a way to have both? Also, although the film hints at Avigdor’s confused feelings as he becomes increasingly fond of his “male” study companion, it dodges having to deal with the homosexual sub-text. Likewise, when Avigdor’s fiance ends up falling in love with and actually marrying Yentl the film has to juggle lesbianism as well, but coyly backs away from the topic.
The most unusual aspect is the music. Unlike in a standard musical, most of the songs are simply overlaid on top of the action. Only rarely do you see them actually being sung, and even then it’s only Streisand who performs. Maybe it was deliberate, to keep the focus on Barbra, but preventing anyone else from singing serves to compound the fact that none of the other characters can express their inner feelings. As for the music itself, the soundtrack lacks a true “belter” or classic. Not one of the songs stays in your head afterwards.
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