The eponymous young woman (Barbra Streisand) has been brought up by her father (Nehemiah Persoff) to be a free thinking and curious young girl, and one who is determined to get an education even though it is only boys who are allowed to go to university. When he dies, she hits on quite a riskily innovative idea. She will cut her hair and dress as boy. Voilà - "Anschel" is born and of he goes to further study the Talmud. Once there, she befriends "Avigdor" (Mandy Patinkin) and his fiancée "Hadass" (Amy Irving) and her association with them gradually makes her realise that there is much more to life than books and philosophy. Life must be for living. Except, well perhaps no-one would be prepared for the favour her new friend asks of her; one that compromises the very purpose of her study and search for independence. It's at this point that what was a powerful and personable drama starts to come off the rails. There is a cruelty to the narrative that no amount of power-ballading is going to mitigate. I went from being broadly engaged by the "Yentl/Anschel" character to being really rather disgusted by the selfishness on display. Certainly that's partly a testament to the acting of Streisand and to the scene-stealing Irving, and it's a potent indictment of marital traditions that don't just exist within the Jewish community, but I still found the preparedness of this would-be scholar to engage in something quite so unkind rather put me off a story about which I no longer cared. The production design is authentic looking and the supporting cast for the first part of the film are engaging, lively and even a little mischievous. "Papa" and "A Piece of Sky" clearly demonstrate the Legrand/Bergman/Streisand partnership at it's most musically powerful but in the end did this film show us a woman bent on self-improvement or one just concerned about herself? I think however pertinent the purpose of a film may be, it's important for the audience to feel some sympathy with the plaintiff, so to speak. Here I started off like that, but quickly felt a lack of objectivity around the development of the lead characterisation led to the creation of a persona I didn't especially respect and I certainly didn't trust.
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life's troubles – even if just for a moment – by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
The Cambridge Squatter tells the story of refugees, recently arrived in Brazil who, together with a group of low-income workers, occupy an old abandoned building in downtown São Paulo. Daily dramas, comical situations and different views on the world commingle with the threat of impending eviction.
Gloria is set against the backdrop of a rural landscape slowly disappearing in modern Portugal. The small border town of Vila de Santiago, once a booming trade center for illegal trafficking, is about to become a ghost town, as a new motorway is to bypass the city and the railway station is being closed. Its stationmaster, Vincente, is preparing to retire. Many young people have moved out, leaving the children to be brought up by the elderly, including thirteen-year-old Glória and her friend Ivan. Glória's life suddenly changes with the arrival of Vincente's younger brother, Mauro, who has just come out of prison and has some old issues to settle. Mauro begins to charge around the station on his motorbike, while Glória's friendship with Ivan is put to test on account of her attraction to older Mauro.
Newly arrived to a remote desert town, Catherine and Matthew are tormented by a suspicion when their two teenage children mysteriously vanish.
As children, Leni and Lazar were best friends. When Lazar returns from extensive travels abroad for his father's funeral, Leni yearns to reconnect with her childhood soulmate but still feels the sting of their years of estrangement.
Ricardo Monteiro is a successful television producer specialising in reality shows. He is 45 years old and he has just received an award for the most popular television show of the year, when he receives an ultimatum from his 18-year-old daughter Leonor. If he does not come home that same evening to celebrate her birthday he will never see her again. Ricardo is distracted by business or other commitments and he is too late for the last flight home. When he returns next day the apartment is empty and Leonor is gone. At first Ricardo thinks that it is only a game, but there are no phone calls or messages and after a while he gets worried and starts looking for her. He discovers that she has quit school without telling him and that she has lost all contact with her old friends. She has become a complete stranger.
Bob Brent, a young Marine from Arkansas, impresses his comrades with his singing ability, and they pitch in to send him to New York to compete in an amateur contest. Success in the contest, however, sets him up for trouble in romance, in his career, and with the Corps.
Lexi, a struggling young mom, has an opportunity to reconnect with her estranged family after she's approached by her now-sober father with news of her mother's failing health.
A threesome becomes a foursome in this sensitive drama. The tale begins with the relationship between a recently divorced man and woman (from different marriages) and the bisexual they get involved with. At first all three are happy in their new arrangement, but then the divorced fellow suddenly leaves and those remaining in the relationship become quite tense. Fortunately the fellow returns with another, more conventional fellow. Eventually the three persuade him to join them.