eiga ha genzitu to tigaimasu.

は marks 映画 as the topic of the sentence.

So the sentence is talking about movies, and then saying something about them:

• 映画は... = As for movies... / Movies...

A very literal breakdown is:

• 映画 = movie / movies
• は = topic marker
• 現実と = with reality / compared with reality
• 違います = differ / are different

So the whole sentence is basically:

• As for movies, they are different from reality.

Here, と marks the thing that something is being compared with.

With 違う / 違います, A は B と 違う means:

• A is different from B

So in this sentence:

• 映画は現実と違います
• Movies are different from reality

You can think of this と as meaning something like from / compared with, even though its core meaning is often and / with in other contexts.

違います is the polite form of 違う.

In this sentence, it means:

• is different
• differs

So:

• 映画は現実と違います = Movies are different from reality

A helpful point: this is not the negative form of a verb. It may feel a bit like English is not the same, but grammatically 違います is just an ordinary positive verb meaning to differ.

Japanese often uses the -ます form in neutral, everyday explanation sentences, especially in textbooks.

• 違う = plain/casual
• 違います = polite

So the sentence could also be said casually as:

• 映画は現実と違う。

Both mean the same thing, but 違います sounds more polite and is a common default form for learners to see first.

Yes, that is also natural, but the focus/topic changes.

• 映画は現実と違います = Movies are different from reality
• 現実は映画と違います = Reality is different from movies

The basic relationship is the same, but the sentence topic changes depending on what you want to talk about.

So if you are discussing movies, the original sentence is more natural.
If you are discussing reality, the reversed version makes more sense.

Using は makes the sentence sound like a general statement about movies.

• 映画は現実と違います = As for movies, they are different from reality.

If you used が, it would sound more specific or contrastive depending on context:

• 映画が現実と違います

That is less natural as a simple standalone general statement. In many basic descriptive sentences, は is preferred when introducing a topic and making a broad comment about it.

It can mean either in principle, because Japanese nouns usually do not mark singular vs. plural the way English does.

So 映画 can mean:

• a movie
• movies
• film as a general category

In this sentence, it most naturally means movies in general or what is shown in movies.

That is why the English meaning is usually something like:

• Movies are different from reality.

Japanese and English organize sentences differently.

The sentence is:

• 映画 は 現実 と 違います

Word-by-word, that is roughly:

• Movies / as for / reality / with / differ

Japanese often puts the main verb at the end, so the important action or state comes last.

A more natural English reordering is:

• Movies are different from reality.

So even though the Japanese word order feels unusual to an English speaker, it is completely normal in Japanese.

現実 basically means reality or actual reality.

Depending on context, English translations can include:

• reality
• the real world
• real life

So this sentence could also be understood as:

• Movies are different from real life.
• What happens in movies is different from reality.

The exact English wording can change a little, but the core meaning stays the same.

Yes. That would mean:

• Movies are not the same as reality.

This is very close in meaning to:

• 映画は現実と違います
• Movies are different from reality.

The nuance is slightly different:

• 違います emphasizes difference
• 同じじゃありません emphasizes not being the same

Both are natural, but 違います is very direct and common for this idea.