Этот фильм интереснее, чем прошлый.

Этот means this and agrees with фильм (film/movie), which is masculine singular nominative.

So:

• этот = this (masculine singular)
• эта = feminine
• это = neuter
• эти = plural

Because фильм is masculine, Russian uses этот фильм = this film/movie.

Интереснее is the comparative form of интересный (interesting).

So:

• интересный фильм = an interesting film
• фильм интереснее = the film is more interesting

In this sentence, the speaker is comparing two films, so Russian uses the comparative:

• интереснее = more interesting

Russian often forms comparatives by changing the adjective ending rather than adding a separate word like English more.

Here:

• интересный → интереснее

This is a very common pattern, though comparative formation is not always fully predictable. Some examples:

• быстрый → быстрее = faster
• умный → умнее = smarter
• интересный → интереснее = more interesting

You may also hear:

• более интересный = more interesting

That version is also correct, but интереснее is more natural and compact here.

In the present tense, Russian normally omits the verb to be.

So English:

• This film is more interesting than the last one

becomes Russian:

• Этот фильм интереснее, чем прошлый.

There is no present-tense есть here. In sentences like this, Russian simply leaves is unstated.

Чем means than in comparisons.

So:

• интереснее, чем прошлый = more interesting than the previous one

This is one of the most common ways to compare things in Russian:

• лучше, чем... = better than...
• хуже, чем... = worse than...
• быстрее, чем... = faster than...

In Russian, чем in comparative constructions is often preceded by a comma.

So:

• Этот фильм интереснее, чем прошлый.

This is standard punctuation in Russian writing.

Russian often leaves out a noun when it is obvious from context.

Here, прошлый literally means previous/last, and the noun film is understood:

• прошлый (фильм) = the previous/last one (film)

English does this too:

• This film is better than the last one.

Russian simply drops фильм because it is already clear.

It is masculine because the omitted noun is фильм, which is masculine.

So even though фильм is not repeated, прошлый still has to match it in gender and number:

• прошлый фильм = masculine
• прошлая книга = feminine
• прошлое письмо = neuter
• прошлые фильмы = plural

Since the hidden noun is фильм, the adjective stays masculine:

• прошлый

Here it usually means the previous one or the last one in context.

Прошлый often refers to something that came before the current one:

• прошлый год = last year
• прошлый раз = last time
• прошлый фильм = the previous/last film

In this sentence, English could translate it as either:

• than the previous one
• than the last one

The exact choice depends on context.

Yes. Russian can use two main comparative patterns:

1. simple comparative

   • интереснее = more interesting

2. analytic comparative

   • более интересный = more interesting

So these are both possible:

• Этот фильм интереснее, чем прошлый.
• Этот фильм более интересный, чем прошлый.

But the first one sounds more natural and idiomatic in everyday speech.

Yes, Russian word order is more flexible than English, though not completely free.

The neutral word order here is:

• Этот фильм интереснее, чем прошлый.

You might also hear variations for emphasis, such as:

• Интереснее этот фильм, чем прошлый.
• Этот фильм, чем прошлый, интереснее.

But these are less neutral and may sound marked or stylistically unusual depending on context.

For learners, the original order is the safest and most natural.

The stress is on the third syllable:

• интере́снее

A rough pronunciation guide:

• een-tye-RYES-nyeh

The -ее ending in comparatives often sounds like a smooth ending rather than two fully separate English-style vowels.

Yes. Фильм can mean either film or movie depending on context and your variety of English.

So the sentence could be translated as:

• This film is more interesting than the previous one.
• This movie is more interesting than the last one.

Both are fine.