Learn Hardcore Romanian: Spune-mi dacă filmul este bun.

Spune is the second-person singular imperative of a spune (“to tell/say”), and -mi is the enclitic pronoun meaning “to me.” In Romanian, object pronouns attach to affirmative imperatives with a hyphen, so Spune-mi literally means “Tell me.”

Why is dacă used here instead of că?

dacă introduces an indirect yes/no clause meaning “if” or “whether.” că introduces a declarative content clause meaning “that.”
So Spune-mi dacă filmul este bun = “Tell me if/whether the movie is good.”
If you said Spune-mi că filmul este bun, it would mean “Tell me that the movie is good” (i.e. convey that fact).

Why is the noun filmul used instead of simply film?

Romanian expresses the definite article as a suffix on the noun.
film (“movie”) + ‑ul (definite article, masculine singular) → filmul (“the movie”).
Because the sentence refers to a specific movie, you need the definite form.

How can I express “a movie” (indefinite) instead?

Use the separate indefinite article un before the noun:
un film = “a movie.”
You could say Spune-mi dacă un film este bun (or informally Spune-mi dacă un film e bun).

Can I shorten este to e in this sentence?

Yes. este is the full form of the 3rd-person singular present tense of a fi (“to be”).
e is a common colloquial contraction.
Both filmul este bun and filmul e bun are correct; the latter sounds more informal.

Why does the adjective bun come after filmul, and how does it agree?

Romanian adjectives typically follow the noun they modify. They must agree in gender, number, and case.
Here, film is masculine singular, so the adjective is bun (masc. sing.), giving filmul este bun.

How can I make the request more formal or polite?

Use the polite/plural form Spuneți-mi instead of Spune-mi.
Formal version: Spuneți-mi dacă filmul este bun.

Could I change the word order to Spune-mi dacă este bun filmul?

Grammatically it’s possible, but less common. Romanian prefers the subject–verb–adjective order (filmul este bun) for natural flow and clarity.

How do I pronounce the letter ă in dacă?

The letter ă represents a mid-central vowel (schwa), similar to the ‘a’ in the English word sofa.
So dacă is pronounced roughly ['dəkə].