16B -The Michigan Daily -Wgend, etc. Magazine - Thu ay, March 25, 1999

.t
q :.: e
B e b @ $ : .,.
x r .; - .,
x.: '
i i h 0 Y ¢ P I N-d -~+ 1 n '" s e .* a d a s v - * 5 r , .. , . -fit ' in

le-t Video Rewind
'Yentl' showcases solid talent in music, filmmaking

,.By Christopher Tkaczyk
Daily Arts Editor
Barbra Streisand's first directorial
effort came in the form of "Yentl," an
endearing film about a 19th Century
girl who decides to cross dress her
way to scholastic success. Based
upon Isaac Bashevis Singer's short
story, "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy,"
Streisand's version goes beyond the
two-dimensional aesthetics that keep

Singer's story from breathing, and
creates a brilliant film adaptation of
an already moving story.
Set in Eastern Europe, the film
follows Streisand as Yentl, a
bereaved young woman who's just
lost her father to consumption. Her
father, the town's local scholar, has
secretly taught Yentl the lessons of
Talmud - then considered a sin in
the Orthodox Jewish faith for a

woman to study religion.
After he dies, Yentl decides to dis-
guise herself as a boy so she might
continue to study the Talmud, her
sole passion.
She adopts the name "Anshel"
and leaves home to find a yeshiva at
which she may begin a serious edu-
cation. On the road, she meets
Avidgor, a student who becomes her
close friend and companion.


Avidgor is devastated when he
discovers that, due to a religious
conflict, his fiancee, Hadass, is for-
bidden by her father to marry him.
In order to save Hadass' innocence,
Avidgor - thinking Yentl is Anshel,
and truly a man - asks her to marry
Hadass. In order for Yentl to keep
her cover, she must agree to the
arrangement, which provides an
interesting conflict: A woman who
loves a man who loves a woman
who loves a man who's really a
woman ....
"Yentl" is described as a "film
with music," which is just about as
much of an understatement as is call-
ing Streisand an actress who sings.
The music comes in the form of
highly crafted songs, created by
Michael Legrand and- Alan and
Marilyn Bergman, which become
full scenes themselves. Most video
stores have placed "Yentl" in the
genre of musical, a placement not
too unfitting, yet slightly bizarre,
considering that it falls directly
beside "The Wiz" and "Xanadu."
But "Yentl" is not a musical in the
sense that the action doesn't stop in
order for an interlude to swarm a
scene. Yentl's thoughts are the focus
of each piece - Streisand is the only
singer here. Voiceovers of other
characters overlap into some of the
numbers, but because the songs are
contained entirely within her head,

Yentl is the only one singing.
Unfortunately, talent is wasted
here, as Streisand opted not to use
the gifted vocal abilities of Mandy
Patinkin, who plays Avidgor.
Havin'g already appeared on
Broadway in "Evita," Patinkin was
well known for his high range and
talents. The only disappointment
with "Yentl" is the exclusion of
Patinkin's singing.
Amy Irving serves well as
Hadass, although the entire cast
seems a bit old to be playing young
adults.
The song "Papa, Can You Hear
Me?," sung by Yentl during her first
night in the outside world without
her father, is probably the greatest
product of the film, for it combines
Legrand's beautiful orchestrations
with the Bergman's free-flowing
lyrical didactics.
The ending helicopter-shot finale,
Streisand's tour-de-force of "A Piece
of Sky," features the second longest
note in movie history to be held by a
singer. The longest? Streisand in
"Hello Dolly" during "Before the
Parade Passes By."
"Yentl" provides a good refresher
for those who want to brush up on
Talmud before Passover begins next
week, or deserves a good look by
those seeking a captivating film that
features excellence in music and sto-
rytelling.



** #
U..

f~2
.01'.
r16

MICHIGAN
~ STUDENT
ASSEMBLY
Elections March 24 & 25
Vote for
MSA President & Vice President
Representatives in:

Education
Business
Medicine

Architecture
Engineering
Public Health

Law
Rackham
SNRE

Art & Design
LS&A
Pharmacy

Kinesiology

Online: http:I/www.umich.edu/~vote
Or from I0:00am-4:00pm in Angell Hall or Pierpont Commons