Movie Review: Yentl

Movie Review: Yentl

Everyone at one time or another has felt out of place. Feeling unsure of one's place in society is an experience that every young adult faces but deals with differently. Some rebel while others comply with whatever has been set out for them by society or their parents, or both. The role of the woman in society is forever changing. Where women were once obligated to stay in the home and dote on their husbands, they are now working in the same types of jobs as their husbands. What was typically the male role has been blurred and practically obliterated. Religious roles have followed society's lead in their evolution. For example, since its creation over five thousand years ago, the

Jewish religion has evolved in some movements to involve women and men equally in ceremonies. The orthodox movement has always remained traditional in its belief that women have their place in the home, cooking and raising children, and serving their husbands. Education remains the man's duty. The movie Yentl starring Barbara Streisand, shows this traditional belief through its plot, characterization, music, lights, camera angles, and symbolism.

Set in Eastern Europe in 1904, Yentl captures the essence of the Jewish woman's eternal struggle. It is the story of a young girl, in love with learning but forbidden to do so by Jewish tradition. Upon her father's death,

Yentl disguises herself as a boy to attend a yeshiva (religious school) and continue her studies. She befriends Avigdor, a male scholar at the yeshiva, and falls in love with him. Driven by her love for him, Yentl will do all that she can to ensure that he is near her and that her secret is not revealed.

Yentl struggles with her secret until the day she can no longer remain silent.

She tells Avigdor what she has done, and of her love for him, but he cannot accept a woman who refuses to act as a traditional woman should. So Yentl departs for America in hope of a different mentality, but never forgetting her love for Avigdor and all that she has learned.

Based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's acclaimed short story, "Yentl, the

Yeshiva Boy," the story is somewhat unrealistic but serves its purpose in proving a point; the point being that women have always been just as capable as men in studying and education, an...

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...e bird, is able to soar - through the prejudices of her traditions and through the world of knowledge for which she so longs. She displays this thought in the last line of the movie when she sings "Papa watch me fly." As well, when Yentl transforms herself into Anshel, the boy, she looks at herself in a cracked mirror and cuts her hair. This displays her uncertainty of herself and her place in Jewish society, and the cutting of her hair symbolizes her transformation and the beginning of a new life for her. Symbolism throughout the film, contributes to the film's theme of self-discovery and role reversal.

The plot, characterization, lighting, camera angles, and symbolism reveal thoroughly the plot of this highly thought-evoking film. The plot mainly contributes to proving that a woman's place is not solely in the home. That

"story books for women, sacred books for men", as the bookseller says at the beginning of the story, is not an accurate assessment of a woman's intellectual capabilities. Because of Barbara Streisand's fabulous and complete characterization of Yentl, this movie comes to life and touches the hearts of its viewers.