Musicals—20

As we explore the 80s in film musicals, let’s take a look at one that is a spectacular musical on all fronts but, somehow, doesn’t seem to be on many “best” lists. And that musical is Yentl [1983] by Jack Rosenthal and Barbra Streisand.

Why, you might ask, does the musical not make the “best” lists? One reason—Barbra Streisand.

If there’s a more obvious case of sex discrimination when it comes to film, I can’t think of one. There was a true backlash to this uppity woman having the nerve to write, direct and star in a film. What an ego, right?

Well, sadly, that’s how many people saw it—and, of course, the irony is that men filled those roles all the time and no one dissed their films because they wrote, directed and acted in them. Woody Allen comes to mind—a man lauded for the great accomplishment of writing, directing and starring in his own films.

Poor Barbra Streisand—and I’m not kidding here. She had the talent and vision to adapt this Isaac Bashevis Singer short story into an iconic musical. The performances were spot-on, the music was wonderful—winning an Academy Award—the look of the film was perfection. It won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Director and Best Actress—the trifecta. And yet it wasn’t even nominated in those three categories at the Academy Awards.

What’s going on here? Well, female directors have been a part of cinema in countries like France for a long time and the foreign critics—who give out the Golden Globes—are more accepting of a woman who writes, acts and directs. But if you look at the American press at the time, you see articles about how Streisand showcases her ego, etc., etc. They’re basically saying “how dare she try and do it all.” But when you can stand back from the rampant sexism of the 80s and just look at the film you’ll see a beautiful story.

Yentl tells the story of a young woman who dresses as a boy to enter a school for future scholars and rabbis in the Jewish faith—there was no other way in her time for a woman to get an education. During the course of the story, she falls for a fellow student and the student’s fiancée falls for her… providing some funny moments in this romantic drama. Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUUILOhBRCw

I talked last week about the innovation a film like Pennies from Heaven brought to the screen. And it’s true in Yentl too. And the most ironic thing? The plot of Yentl is about a young woman who can’t get educated unless she becomes a boy. And the making of Yentl is about a woman who tries to enter the male world of directing/acting/writing and gets trashed for it… despite the fact that she produced a beautiful film.

I’m hopeful that things are changing—have changed in some cases. That women who want to do it all will be given the chance to do that. Streisand had the idea to tell this classic story through music for the big screen. And she did it.

Do you have a barrier in mind that needs breaking? Can you do that through creating your musical? Something to consider.

Copyright © Diane Lake

08Dec19

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