12.54: Yentl 40th Anniversary

In 1985, Gen X had “Just One of the Guys.” Remember that gem? (We did love it!) Maybe we’ll watch it on its 40th anniversary. But this week we went back to 1983 and watched “Yentl,” same Shakespearean premise of a woman pretending to be a man to succeed in a man’s world.

Yentl is an Ashkenazi Jewish girl living in Eastern Europe in 1907 in a community where women are not permitted to study the Talmud. But her forward-thinking father does indeed teach her the sacred texts. When her father dies, Yentl cuts her hair, leaves town, finds a religious school, and takes on the name Anshel so that she can become a Jewish scholar.

The film is directed by and stars Barbra Streisand. She was even nominated for best director at the 1984 Academy Awards. Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving also star in the film as fellow Talmud scholar (the former), wife (the later), and dual love interests.

Watch the film on max!

Next week: Kelly is seeing Peter Gabriel’s I/o tour in Pittsburgh, so we’re watching the documentary “Classic Albums: Peter Gabriel - So” on Amazon Prime with ads.