All right — you wanna yell at me, go right ahead. Anyone who doesn’t recognize “Yentl” as some sort of twisted masterpiece either has some issues with musicals or with Barbra herself. Here’s what I noticed, this the umpteenth time I’ve seen the film (on, choke, the Showtime Women’s channel!) Only when Barbra is alone does she sing and move her mouth on screen. If there is anyone else in the frame, it is done as interior monologue — but at the end, at the very end when she accepts who she is and is tired of hiding and travelling by boat to America (her big numbers tend to be on boats, don’t they?) she is belting it out in front of the whole world to see — the opening line is “I’ve found my voice.” Dig? Michel Legrand’s music is as rich with emotion as his work for “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.” If the big ending doesn’t have you stomping and cheering like a West Village queen at the Halloween parade, I don’t know what will. Papa, watch me fly!!!
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Jordan Hoffman is a New York-based writer and film critic working for The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Thrillist, Times of Israel, NY Daily News and elsewhere.
He is the host of ENGAGE: The Official Star Trek Podcast, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and challenges you to a game of backgammon.