Learn Hardcore Czech: Ten nový film je pro moji babičku příliš hlasitý, proto se na něj raději nedívá. - That new film is too loud for my grandmother, so she prefers not to watch it.

ten is a demonstrative adjective (“that / this”), and Czechs use it much more often than English uses that or this.
Ten nový film usually refers to a specific film both speakers know about (e.g. the one that just came out or was mentioned before).
Without ten, Nový film je… can sound a bit more general, like “A new film is too loud…”, not clearly about that particular film.

You could also hear:

Tenhle nový film… – “this new film (right here / just now)”
Tamten film… – “that film (over there / that one, not this one)”

So Ten nový film… is the most neutral way to say “That new film…” in everyday Czech.

Why is it pro moji babičku and not pro moje babička?

Two things are happening here: case and agreement.

The preposition pro
- pro (“for”) always takes the accusative case.
- babička (grandma) is feminine, nominative form is babička, but accusative is babičku.
  - Nominative: babička (subject)
  - Accusative: babičku (object after pro)
The possessive adjective moje / moje / moji
- The basic form you learn is moje (“my”), but it changes to agree with gender, number, and case.
- Feminine singular accusative of moje is moji (colloquially you may also see mou).
- So with babičku in the accusative, you must say moji babičku.

Structure:

pro
- moji (fem. acc.) + babičku (fem. acc.) = “for my grandmother” in correct case agreement.

Why is it příliš hlasitý and not příliš hlasitá or příliš hlasité?

The adjective hlasitý (“loud”) must agree with the noun film in gender, number, and case.

film is masculine inanimate, singular, nominative.
The adjective pattern for masculine inanimate, singular, nominative is typically -ý:
- nový film – “new film”
- hlasný zvuk – “loud sound”
- hlasité would match neuter plural or feminine/neuter plural in some cases, not film.
- hlasitá would match feminine singular, nominative (e.g. hlasitá písnička – “a loud song”).

So:

Ten nový film je příliš hlasitý
“That new film is too loud” – hlasitý agrees with film.

What is the difference between příliš hlasitý and moc hlasitý?

Both can mean “too loud”, but there is a nuance:

příliš hlasitý – “excessively loud”, a bit more neutral and standard; sounds slightly more formal or careful.
moc hlasitý – everyday, colloquial “too loud / very loud”; moc literally means “very / too (much)”.

In this sentence, you could also say:

Ten nový film je pro moji babičku moc hlasitý… – “That new film is too loud for my grandma…”

Both are correct; příliš just sounds a bit more like standard written Czech, while moc is highly common in spoken language.

Why is it proto se na něj raději nedívá and not proto ona se na něj raději nedívá?

Czech normally drops subject pronouns when the subject is clear from the verb ending.

The verb form nedívá is 3rd person singular (he/she/it).
From the context (pro moji babičku), we know the subject is “she” (the grandmother), so you don’t need ona.

You could say Ona se na něj raději nedívá for emphasis (e.g. contrasting her with someone else), but in a neutral sentence, Czech usually omits ona.

What does proto mean here, and how is it different from takže?

In this sentence:

proto = “therefore / for that reason / so”
It connects the cause and result:
Ten nový film je… příliš hlasitý, proto se na něj raději nedívá.
“The film is too loud, therefore she prefers not to watch it.”

Difference from takže:

proto is more like a logical connector (“therefore”), a little more formal/neutral.
takže is more conversational, often used like “so / and so”, introducing a conclusion or consequence in spoken language.

You could say:

… je příliš hlasitý, takže se na něj raději nedívá.
This sounds a bit more colloquial.

The comma before proto (or takže) is normal, because you’re joining two clauses.

Why is the verb dívat se used with na and not just dívat film like in English “watch a film”?

In Czech, dívat se (“to look / to watch”) is a reflexive verb and typically takes the preposition na (“on / at”).

Pattern: dívat se na + accusative
- dívat se na film – to watch a film
- dívat se na televizi – to watch TV
- dívat se na někoho – to look at someone

You cannot say dívat film in standard Czech.

So:

se dívat na něj = “to watch it (him)”
In the sentence: … proto se na něj raději nedívá.
“Therefore she prefers not to watch it.”

What is the role of se in se na něj raději nedívá?

se is part of the reflexive verb dívat se.

dívat by itself is not used in this meaning in modern Czech.
The dictionary form is dívat se – “to look / to watch”.
The se does not usually mean “herself/himself” here; it just marks that the verb is reflexive in form.

Conjugation example:

já se dívám – I watch
ty se díváš – you watch
on/ona se dívá – he/she watches
oni se dívají – they watch

So in the sentence:

nedívá se = “she doesn’t watch”
Word order: se can move: proto se na něj…, or proto na něj se raději nedívá (less usual). The version in the sentence is the most natural.

Why is the pronoun něj used after na? Could we say na to or na film instead?

něj is a form of the 3rd person pronoun referring back to film.

film is masculine inanimate, singular.
After most prepositions, masculine forms like něj / něj are used:
- na něj – “on him/it”
- pro něj – “for him/it”
- o něj – “about him/it”

Here:

na něj = “at it / at him” → “watch it” (the film).

You could avoid the pronoun and say:

proto se na ten film raději nedívá – “so she prefers not to watch that film.”
Or use na to (“at that/it”), which is more neutral and can sound a bit more casual or less specific:
- proto se na to raději nedívá.

All are possible, but na něj ties very clearly back to ten nový film.

What exactly does raději mean here? How is it related to rád?

raději is the comparative form of rád.

rád = “gladly / with pleasure / like to”
- Dívá se na filmy rád. – “He likes watching films.”
raději = “more gladly / rather / prefer to”
- Raději se nedívá. – “She’d rather not watch.”

In the sentence:

… proto se na něj raději nedívá.
Literally: “therefore she rather does not watch it.” Natural English: “so she prefers not to watch it” / “so she would rather not watch it.”

So raději expresses a preference between two options:

Option A: watch the film
Option B: not watch the film
She chooses B; she raději does not watch it.

Could the word order be Proto raději se na něj nedívá or Proto se raději na něj nedívá? Are these correct?

Yes, word order in Czech is fairly flexible, but some options sound more natural than others.

Most natural in everyday speech:

Proto se na něj raději nedívá. (the original)
Proto se raději na něj nedívá. (also fine; raději moves after se)

Less natural, but still grammatically possible:

Proto raději se na něj nedívá. – emphasis on raději; not wrong, just a bit marked / stylized.

What you should avoid is separating se too unnaturally from dívá or putting se at the very end. Keeping se close to the verb and placing adverbs like raději around them is usually the safest pattern.

Is there a difference between dívat se na and koukat (se) na in this kind of sentence?

Both are commonly used and very similar, but with a slight difference in style:

dívat se na – standard, neutral; good in both spoken and written Czech.
- dívat se na film – to watch a film
koukat (se) na – more colloquial, very common in speech.
- koukat na film – to watch a film

So you could also say:

Ten nový film je pro moji babičku příliš hlasitý, proto se na něj raději nekouká.
This sounds a bit more informal.

For learners, dívat se na is the safest neutral choice.