wow i watched shine for music the other day, wasn't really paying attention.. and i haven't watched the other film yet, but try starting your essay by outlining both of the protagonist's life and compare each one. Try to include some film techniques which show 'discovery' and how the director portrayed it (e.g. motif A recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature. A motif may also be two contrasting elements in a work, such as good and evil or in shine's case a musical rift/theme) then start branching out on the hardships that each character had to go through to 'discover' their dream or life w/e the case maybe.
Hope this helped