European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 4, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Review Yentl confused about direction of its message by Christopher Wienandt staff writer barbra Streisand lovers will love Streisand haters will hate Streisand lovers will Call it Streisand haters will Call it incredibly the truth lies somewhere in Yentl is indeed another Streisand tou Deforce she stars in the she directed she staged the musical numbers in which she is invariably the Only she was co writer and its actually a rather pleasant if one can suspend ones disbelief a Little bit More readily than set in in a jewish Community in Eastern Europe it was filmed in in this men have their purpose to study the women have their purpose to serve men read scholarly books women look at picture but rules imply and in this Case its the rabbis daughter Yentl who Breaks the barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin ride through the City streets in she studies she reads books she knows the heres the moviegoers first difficulty accepting the passion with which Yentl pursues the abstraction of the sophomoric examples of scholarly argument the characters offer Are also a Little hard to Yentl has Learned everything she knows from her father Nehemiah after he Dies she must find a new source of she disguises herself As a boy and is accepted at a a school that teaches and becomes friends with Avigdor Mandy number two accepting barbra Streisand As a and particularly in contrast to the bearded this is a difficulty that Streisand does not Yentl has its Strong the cinematography is although somewhat the acting is Strong All especially that of Amy who plays the woman Patinkin loves and Streisand her character shows the greatest development of any in the from an uneducated showpiece of a woman who wants Only to please her to a person discovering the Miracle of the music is not but its neither inspired nor the by mass production composer Michel is melodic but especially at one Point where the orchestra verges on breaking into Aaron croplands appalachian it also unconscionably derivative is the closing scene of the in which for All practical reprises the dont rain on my Parade scene from funny Yentl seems stuck in a time it tries its damnedest to be a 1950s which May explain the conservative music and but its women rights theme gets tangled up with its potentially comic sexual and in the end one is left to ask just what was Streisand trying to do with this film Yentl is playing at Heaters on the cafes movie stripes Magazine 77