MR.HOLLAND'S OPUS (1995)

Directed by: Stephen Herek
Written by: Patrick Sean Duncan
Studio: Hollywood Pictures
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Olympia Dukakis
Rated: PG

About the film:
A composer/musician decides to take a teaching job to make money until his art can pay his way. That teaching job becomes a career and we wee the impact his life has made on generations of students.

Movie Quote:
“There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus.”
Gertrude Lang (Joanna Gleason) in Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)

Bible Quote:
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (NIV)

Commentary:
Gertrude informs Mr. Holland of something that we could see all along – that his life made a difference in the lives of others. The funny thing is that often we who are making the impact are the last ones to notice it being made.

The impact of out time on this earth can best be measured by examining the lives of those whom we touch. They will be the evidence that we were here and that we made a difference. They are the legacy we leave – greater than any composition, work of art, or monument that we might make.

The examples of our lives do make a lasting imprint on the hearts of those with whom we connect. The man I am today is largely a result of the people I have let into my life. What I’ve learned from them, directly and indirectly, has enriched me and caused me to grow to heights that would have been impossible without their influence.

They may not be aware of the impact their lives have made upon mine. But the impact is undeniable. I can only pray that the ‘letters’ I leave behind – the ones written on the tablets of human hearts – tell a story worth reading.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. Who have been the major influences in your life and why?
2. How does music affect other aspects of our lives? Why is music important?

Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot