Lik u filmu vidi kralja.

Because kralja is in the accusative singular, and kralj is a masculine animate noun.

In Croatian, masculine animate nouns usually change form in the accusative:

• kralj = nominative singular (the king)
• kralja = accusative singular (the king as a direct object)

So in Lik u filmu vidi kralja, kralja is the thing being seen, which is why it is in the accusative.

Here lik is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular, which is the basic dictionary form.

• lik = nominative singular
• in this sentence, lik is the one who sees

Also, lik is an inanimate masculine noun, so even if it were accusative singular, it would often still look the same as the nominative. That can be confusing for English speakers.

So:

• lik = subject, nominative
• kralja = object, accusative

You know mainly from the case endings, not just from word order.

• lik is nominative, so it is the subject
• kralja is accusative, so it is the object

That means the sentence means:

• The character in the film sees the king

Even though Croatian word order is more flexible than English, the case ending on kralja clearly shows that the king is the object.

U filmu means in the film.

The preposition u can take different cases depending on meaning:

• u + locative = in, inside a place/location
• u + accusative = into a place, showing movement

Here there is no movement, just location, so Croatian uses the locative:

• film = nominative
• filmu = locative after u

So:

• u filmu = in the film

Vidi is the 3rd person singular present tense of vidjeti / videti (to see, depending on the standard/variant).

So vidi can mean:

• he sees
• she sees
• it sees

Croatian usually does not need a separate subject pronoun like he or she if the subject is already stated or understood.

In this sentence:

• Lik ... vidi kralja = The character sees the king

Croatian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So lik can mean:

• a character
• the character

And kralja can mean:

• a king
• the king

Which one sounds best depends on context. Since you said the meaning is already shown to the learner, the translation choice comes from context, not from a separate Croatian word.

Yes, lik can have several meanings depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• character (especially in a story, film, game)
• figure
• sometimes colloquially guy
• in some contexts it can relate to appearance or face/image

In Lik u filmu vidi kralja, the context u filmu strongly suggests character in the film, so character is the natural meaning here.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and phrases are often placed where they sound natural or where the speaker wants emphasis.

So Lik u filmu vidi kralja is a normal sentence. The phrase u filmu describes lik here:

• the character in the film

English usually keeps a more fixed order, but Croatian can move parts around more freely without changing the basic meaning, as long as the case endings still make the roles clear.

Yes. Croatian allows several word orders, for example:

• Lik u filmu vidi kralja
• Lik vidi kralja u filmu
• Kralja vidi lik u filmu

These can differ slightly in focus or emphasis, but the case ending kralja still marks the king as the object.

However, changing word order can sometimes also change what a phrase seems to modify. For example, u filmu may sound more closely connected to lik in one version and more connected to the whole action in another. In your original sentence, it most naturally sounds like the character in the film.

It is grammatically present tense, but Croatian, like English, can use the present tense when talking about the plot of a story, film, or book.

So vidi literally means sees, but in context it could be used in plot summary language:

• The character in the film sees the king

That is perfectly natural.

The dictionary forms are:

• lik = character
• film = film/movie
• kralj = king
• vidjeti / videti = to see

The forms in the sentence are:

• lik = nominative singular
• filmu = locative singular
• kralja = accusative singular
• vidi = 3rd person singular present

This is a useful way to break down Croatian sentences when you are learning.