Yentl

Yentl (1983) is the musical drama directed, produced, and headlined by Barbra Streisand — watch it online on iFILM. Based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's story, the film is set in early twentieth-century Eastern Europe: after her father dies, a young Jewish woman disguises herself as a man to gain entry to a yeshiva, the religious school that has always been off-limits to her.

Taking the name Anshel, she finds a study partner in Avigdor — Mandy Patinkin — and falls quietly in love. The deception compounds when Avigdor arranges for her to marry Hadass, played by Amy Irving. What began as a practical solution becomes an increasingly impossible balancing act between honest desire and the freedom she fought to claim.

Streisand's directorial debut took home the Golden Globe for Best Director — the first woman to win in that category. The Michel Legrand score produced songs that outlasted the awards season. It's the rare musical that treats its central question seriously rather than resolving it with a cheerful finale. Stream Yentl (1983) online on iFILM.