1983 film by Barbra Streisand
Yentl is a 1983 American romantic musical drama film co-written, co-produced, directed by, and starring American entertainer Barbra Streisand in her directorial debut. It is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy".
The film incorporates music to tell the story of Yentl Mendel, an Ashkenazi Jewish woman in Poland in 1904 who decides to disguise herself as a man named Anshel so that she can receive an education in Talmudic law. The film's musical score and songs, composed by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, include the songs "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" and "The Way He Makes Me Feel", both sung by Streisand.
Yentl was theatrically released in the United States on November 18, 1983, by MGM/UA Entertainment Company. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and was a box-office success, grossing $68.7 million against the production budget of $12 million. The film received the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy and Best Director for Streisand, making her the first woman to win Best Director at the Golden Globes.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.