Selv min mor siger, at filmen er spændende.

Here selv means even in the sense of even my mother.

So:

• Selv min mor = Even my mother

It is placed before min mor because it emphasizes that person specifically. The speaker is saying that the mother is perhaps an unexpected person to say this.

Compare:

• Selv min mor siger det. = Even my mother says that.
• Min mor siger det selv. = My mother says it herself.

Those are different meanings, so the position of selv matters.

Mor is the normal everyday word for mother / mom in Danish.

• min mor = my mother / my mom

Moder exists, but it is much more formal, old-fashioned, or used in special contexts.

So in ordinary speech, min mor is the natural choice.

Because selv min mor is the subject of the sentence.

Danish main clauses usually follow the V2 rule, meaning the finite verb comes in the second position. In this sentence:

• Selv min mor = first element
• siger = finite verb in second position

So the order is correct:

• Selv min mor siger ...

There is no inversion because the subject itself is in first position. If some other element came first, then the subject would come after the verb.

For example:

• I dag siger selv min mor, at filmen er spændende.

Here I dag is first, so the verb siger comes second, and the subject selv min mor comes after it.

At is the conjunction that introducing a subordinate clause.

So:

• siger, at filmen er spændende = says that the film is exciting

The clause after at is:

• at filmen er spændende

In English, that is often optional. In Danish, at is also sometimes omitted in speech, especially after verbs like tro, synes, sige, but including it is very standard and clear.

So both can occur:

• Min mor siger, at filmen er spændende.
• Min mor siger filmen er spændende.

The version with at is especially good for learners.

Because Danish punctuation normally puts a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by words like at.

So:

• Selv min mor siger, at filmen er spændende.

This is standard Danish comma usage.

English punctuation is less strict here, so this may feel unusual if you are comparing it with English.

Filmen means the film / the movie.

Danish often adds the definite article as an ending:

• en film = a film
• filmen = the film

So the sentence is talking about a specific film, not films in general.

Spændende is the adjective exciting.

It comes from the verb at spænde, but as an adjective spændende means exciting / suspenseful / interesting in an exciting way.

Here it is used after er, so it is a predicate adjective:

• filmen er spændende = the film is exciting

In this use, Danish adjectives often appear in a basic/common form. For this adjective, spændende is also the form you will often see in several contexts, because adjectives ending in -ende do not change the way many other adjectives do.

Compare:

• en spændende film
• filmen er spændende
• spændende film

The form stays spændende.

Yes. Depending on context, spændende can mean:

• exciting
• thrilling
• interesting in a lively or suspenseful way

For a movie, exciting is usually the best translation. If the film is a thriller or full of suspense, thrilling might also fit.

Not directly. Siger literally means says.

So:

• min mor siger, at filmen er spændende = my mother says that the film is exciting

In natural English, people sometimes use says where the meaning is really about opinion, but in Danish siger still literally means says.

If you wanted thinks, Danish would use:

• min mor synes, at filmen er spændende = my mother thinks the film is exciting
• min mor tror, at filmen er spændende = my mother believes the film is exciting

These are similar but not identical.

Yes, and that would often sound very natural.

Difference:

• siger = reports what she says aloud
• synes = gives her opinion

So:

• Selv min mor siger, at filmen er spændende. = Even my mother says the film is exciting.
• Selv min mor synes, at filmen er spændende. = Even my mother thinks the film is exciting.

Both are correct; they just focus on slightly different things.

A natural rhythm would put emphasis on selv and often on spændende.

Roughly:

• SELV min mor siger, at filmen er SPÆNDende.

A few pronunciation notes:

• selv sounds roughly like selw, but with a Danish-style e
• mor has a long vowel
• siger is often pronounced something like SEE-er in careful speech, though real pronunciation can sound more compressed
• spændende has the Danish æ, somewhat like the vowel in English cat, but not exactly

If you want, you can think of the sentence as having two chunks:

• Selv min mor siger
• at filmen er spændende

That can help with both speaking and listening.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Selv min mor = subject phrase with emphasis
• siger = main verb
• at filmen er spændende = subordinate clause functioning as the object/content of what is said

And inside the subordinate clause:

• filmen = subject
• er = verb
• spændende = predicate adjective

So the overall pattern is:

• [subject] + [verb] + [subordinate clause]

That is a very common Danish sentence type.