Yentl would be an impressive achievement at any point in a director’s career. The fact that this was Streisand’s debut makes it even more notable.

| Feb 20, 2024

A stunning film that explores gender roles and queer themes far ahead of its time, with Barbra giving what may well be the best performance in her unparalleled filmography.

| Feb 13, 2024

Barbra Streisand’s Yentl is rhapsodic yet informal; it’s like a gently surprising turn of phrase.

| Sep 11, 2023

Streisand's still-best directorial outing.

| Jun 13, 2023

If Yentl were the work of an unknown first-time director, critics and moviegoers would be knocking each other out of the way to "discover" this voluptuous talent.

| May 12, 2023

When it was announced that Streisand was going to produce, direct, write, star and sing all of the songs in this film, no one thought she'd ever pull it off. She did. Bravo, Barbra!

| Original Score: 4/4 | May 12, 2023

It is beautifully filmed with a surety of technique and contains a range of performances and a sense of style that are the marks of a first-rate director.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 12, 2023

Yentl is a debut that its exacting star can be justly pleased with.

| May 12, 2023

[The musical score's] treacherous glissandi and searching wit find their ideal interpreter in Streisand's incredible Flexible Flyer of a voice. After two decades of hard work, that voice is still as smooth as mercury poured over dry ice.

| May 12, 2023

It may resemble a vanity production from afar (or at close range, too, for that matter), but even at its kitschiest it seems to be heartfelt. That goes a long way, though not far enough, toward saving the film from its own built-in difficulties.

| May 12, 2023

A charming allegory for women's liberation. Streisand hits the right note with this perfect holiday fare.

| May 12, 2023

It's Streisand's first directing job, and she tells her story well, with just enough visual treats to keep up looking around the frame. Yentl also is a surprisingly emotional musical from a performer who many people thought had lost her way in Hollywood.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 12, 2023

[The songs] are by no means as obtrusive as they look when shown out of context on television, but they do tend to sound strikingly alike... Still, from a visual point of view the film is magnificently upholstered.

| May 12, 2023

Yentl exhibits a special, sneaky kind of goodness; in fact, it's so subtly good, its excellence may go unappreciated by moviegoers expecting nothing more than a rousing time.

| May 12, 2023

Streisand has always had her own way of doing things, and if Singer's spare, incisive, mystical style is smothered by Streisand's lush cinematography, slow pacing and distended contouring, she nevertheless achieves some remarkable results.

| May 12, 2023

Yentl is not without its small sins, but this handsomely-produced film of an Isaac Bashevis Singer story is warm and passionate and, for most of its two-hour running time, tremendously moving.

| May 12, 2023

In Yentl, the erstwhile Funny Girl proves she can be a fine Funny Boy and, more importantly, a fine director.

| May 12, 2023

If you're not fanatical about Streisand you'll get more than enough of her in Yentl, but the movie also provides more meaningful entertainment than we had any right to hope for.

| May 12, 2023

Maybe it was hoped that a spoonful of schmaltz would make Isaac Bashevis Singer's bitter and even pessimistic story go down a sentimental treat. Perhaps it will for some; but it stuck in my throat.

| May 12, 2023

It has what one-man shows do when they are working right: It has conviction, and a sense of the artist's vision.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 12, 2023