Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Esa película parece muy interesante.

esta película = this movie (close to the speaker)
esa película = that movie (a bit farther away, or not immediately “here”)
aquella película = that movie over there (farther away, or more distant in time/mental distance)

In real conversations, especially in Latin America, speakers don’t always follow the distance rule strictly; esa is just a normal, neutral way to say “that movie” that you’re referring to (maybe you just mentioned it, or you see it but it’s not right in your hand).

Why say esa película instead of just la película?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different uses:

la película parece muy interesante
= “The movie seems very interesting.”
→ You’re talking about a movie that’s already clear from context, like “the movie we’re going to watch.”
esa película parece muy interesante
= “That movie seems very interesting.”
→ You’re pointing out or singling out a specific movie among others, as if you’re indicating it: that one (not another one).

So esa adds a bit of pointing/contrast or focus compared to plain la.

Why is it película (feminine) and not masculine?

In Spanish, every noun has grammatical gender, and it’s not always logical from an English perspective. Película (movie, film) is simply defined as a feminine noun.

Singular: la película (the movie)
Plural: las películas (the movies)

Because película is feminine and singular, all related determiners and adjectives that must agree will match that gender/number:

esa película (that movie) → esa is feminine singular to match película
If plural: esas películas (those movies)

What is the grammatical subject in Esa película parece muy interesante?

The subject is esa película (“that movie”).

Breakdown of the sentence:

Esa película = subject (that movie)
parece = verb (parecer, 3rd person singular, present)
muy interesante = predicate adjective phrase (what it seems like)

So:

Esa película → parece → (ser) muy interesante

Why is it parece and not es? What’s the difference?

parece = “seems / looks / appears” (it’s your impression, judgment, or assumption)
es = “is” (a more direct statement of fact or opinion)

Compare:

Esa película parece muy interesante.
→ From what I’ve heard/seen (trailer, reviews, plot), it seems very interesting.
Esa película es muy interesante.
→ I state it as a fact or strong opinion, usually because I’ve seen it or know it well.

Using parecer keeps it a bit more tentative or based on appearances/information rather than direct experience.

How is parecer conjugated, and is it used like gustar?

In this sentence, parecer is a regular -er verb used in a normal way:

Yo parezco
Tú pareces
Él/Ella/Usted parece
Nosotros parecemos
Ustedes/Ellos parecen

Here we have: Esa película parece muy interesante.

But parecer is also very often used in a pattern similar to gustar, with indirect object pronouns:

Me parece interesante. = “It seems interesting to me.” / “I think it’s interesting.”
¿Te parece bien? = “Does that seem okay to you?”
Nos parece una buena idea. = “It seems like a good idea to us.”

In your example, we’re using the simple subject-verb structure, not the me/te/le pattern.

Why is it muy interesante and not mucho interesante?

Because:

muy is used before adjectives and adverbs to mean “very”:
- muy interesante (very interesting)
- muy grande (very big)
- muy rápidamente (very quickly)
mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas is used mainly with nouns or as a standalone adverb:
- mucho interés (a lot of interest) – noun
- muchas películas (many movies) – noun
- Te quiero mucho. (I love you a lot.) – adverb

Since interesante is an adjective, we use muy:
muy interesante, not mucho interesante.

Why does interesante end in -e? Shouldn’t it change for masculine/feminine?

Many Spanish adjectives that end in -e have one form for both masculine and feminine in the singular:

un libro interesante (an interesting book, masculine)
una película interesante (an interesting movie, feminine)

They only change for singular/plural:

Singular: interesante
Plural: interesantes

So:

Esa película parece muy interesante.
Esas películas parecen muy interesantes.

Gender doesn’t affect interesante, only number.

Why does película have an accent mark, and how do I pronounce it?

The accent mark in película shows where the stress (main emphasis) goes:

Syllables: pe–LÍ–cu–la
Stress: on LÍ → pe-LI-cu-la

Without the accent, by default, a word ending in a is stressed on the second-to-last syllable (PE-li-cu-la), which would be wrong here. The written accent corrects that and tells you to stress the lí syllable.

Pronunciation (simplified):

pe like “peh”
lí like “lee” (stressed)
cu like “koo”
la like “lah”

So: pe-LI-koo-lah.

Can I change the word order, like Parece muy interesante esa película?

Yes, that’s grammatically correct and natural:

Esa película parece muy interesante.
Parece muy interesante esa película.

The second version often sounds a bit more like you’re commenting on it after it’s been mentioned, or answering a question:

—¿Qué te parece esa película?
—Parece muy interesante.

For a neutral, standalone sentence, Esa película parece muy interesante is probably the most straightforward word order, but the alternative is fine and common.

Are there other common ways to say this in Latin American Spanish?

Yes, some very natural alternatives:

Esa película se ve muy interesante.
→ Literally “That movie looks very interesting.” Very common in everyday speech.
Esa película se ve buenísima.
→ “That movie looks great / amazing.” (More colloquial; buenísima = “really good.”)
Esa película suena interesante.
→ “That movie sounds interesting.” (Usually based on a description, not visuals.)
Esa película pinta muy bien. (more informal)
→ “That movie looks promising.”

All of these keep the same basic idea, with slightly different nuances.