My interpretation for the movie

I've read some comments, so I'd like to add my view on what I believe was the message of this movie.

First we have Holland. He claims himself a composer, but none of his doing is known. He goes to work as professor on a school, again claiming it as a fallback and to want more free time to compose.

So, he doesn't like to be a professor. He feels to be a fail as composer and was trying to reorganize his life, by getting a stable job and more time to try again in his dream.

At first, lacking experience, he hates the job. But slowly he gets the ways, and surprisingly he's touched by some students and touches them too.

His first idea was to work there for 4 years, then he'd have the money to quit, and hopefully would have his composing done. But then his wife gets pregnant, he has to move to a bigger house, and his son is deaf and requires special caring. He doesn't save the money as expected, and he also doesn't get the free time. He can't quit.

One thing I see many ppl complaining is his relationship with his family. Here I understand they wanted to show some reality. His passion is music, but his wife doesn't like it at all and starts complaining about "HIS music", while his son is deaf and - he thinks - can't understand his passion.

While he's having trouble in his family, he meets people at work (as a professor, he meets a lot of ppl over the years) who get closer to him. People that like music as him, who understand him, who relate better to him. This helps in making him farther from his family.

To a point that he meets a pretty young girl who likes older guys and falls in love for him. He almost cheats his wife and finds some support for quitting his acutal life and start it all over again. Sadly he can't do that and must pass.

That phase passes and he starts paying more attention to his family and less attention on the work. He recovers his wife and gets closer to his son. He regrets being away and tries to bring his son closer to his passion, and luckly his son is still there and interested.

More time passes, he never manages go succeed as a composer. He's old and is hired. As pointed by the girl, he's not famous or rich. He's a completed failure. That thought happens to a lot of people, during their lives while they struggle and when they get old and see they didn't do it.

He is a failure in his dream and nothing can change that idea. But in the end he found another dream, one of being relevant in people's lives. And these people give honor to him saying they were touched by him and are better people thanks to him.

It's not his main dream, but it's something. He made people like music as he does, he shared it with them, and was relevant in their lives. I think many people go as professor for the same reason as him and feel as him over the years. This movie says to these people that their lives was worth it, and maybe shows to young professors a way to succeed in their profession.