To be granted prestige is one of the foremost battles of life, once you have climbed up the hierarchy of needs, and films are no different than human beings in these matters. Picked apart by their limbs in search of meaning and delivery, thrashed to shake out the remaining tit-bits, it finally makes it to the end. The Only Girl In The Orchestra is one such child of passion that has been slowly creeping up the chart since its premiere on 9th of November 2023. 

While Netflix is well known for its most brain-fog inducing of shows and movies, it also maintains a dish of carefully and lovingly selected appetizers in its cabinets of genres upon genres, recently slipping another one onto its shelves.

The 35-minutes long documentary film, The Only Girl In The Orchestra, was globally released on the streaming platform almost a year later on December 24th, 2024, and Netflix might have been let in on the greatness of this piece, smelling it out right before the documentary was nominated for the Academy Awards of 2025, on January of the same year. Given the absolute masterpiece that lies underneath the name, the Oscar nomination was simply a natural addition. 

The documentary film follows a pioneer double bassist in the orchestra of 16-time Grammy Awardee Leonard Bernstein, Orin O’Brein. 89 years old but far from teetering at the edge of life, she explains her days as The Only Girl In The Orchestra because she was, in fact, the first woman to ever join the New York Philharmonic in 1966. The now-on-Netflix documentary is also shot by O'Brien's own niece, Molly O’Brien, perhaps even adding a touch of familial empathy on the way.

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While we are surrounded with rows upon rows of colorful and blinding pop-artists of our days, who may be true to their craft, no doubt, there is a quiet beauty in the ghost of the past that we see in this short documentary.

In a world where everything we see on screen is manufactured to fit the eyes of an idealist and daydreamer, the imagery is no doubt inspiring. From grand, glittering stages to profoundly penned, hours-long stories of backstages, whether it is Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour documentary with its easter eggs or Ye’s Jeen-Yuhs, these productions send blood rushing to our brains. Yet, in stark contrast, there is the utterly raw depiction of a classical musician.

Orin O’Brien openly acknowledges her secondary role in the orchestra, yet inspires multitudes with the fierceness she holds for her art. It is as if she were fighting at the forefront, all within just a few tens of minutes.“I didn't have any ambition of being a soloist, I liked being in the background.”, she says. She calls you home, makes you sit down and introspect on your journey to success instead of diving headfirst.

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What do you think of Orin O’Brien’s life story in The Only Girl in The Orchestra? Let us know in the comments below.