Esa película es larguísima pero interesante.

That movie is very long but interesting.

Breakdown of Esa película es larguísima pero interesante.

• ser: to be
• pero: but
• interesante: interesting
• esa: that
• larguísimo: very long
• la película: the film

Questions & Answers about Esa película es larguísima pero interesante.

Why is it esa and not esta?

Spanish has three main demonstratives:

• esta = this (close to the speaker)
• esa = that (a bit farther from the speaker)
• aquella = that over there (far from both speaker and listener, or more distant in time)

Esa película suggests the film is not right here with me—maybe it’s showing in a different place or we’re just talking about it in general.
Esta película would sound more like this film (we’re watching now / right here).
All three (esta / esa / aquella) are possible in other contexts; it depends on the feeling of physical or mental distance the speaker wants to express.

Why is película feminine, and how do I know its gender?

In Spanish, every noun has grammatical gender, usually masculine or feminine.

• Película is feminine; you can see that in:
  • The article esa (feminine, singular)
  • The adjective larguísima ending in -a

A common pattern (not a 100% rule) is:

• Nouns ending in -a → often feminine: casa, mesa, película
• Nouns ending in -o → often masculine: libro, cuadro

You generally learn the gender together with the noun: la película, una película, esa película.

What does the accent in película do?

The accent mark (tilde) on í shows where the stress goes:

• Without rules, pelicula would be stressed on li: pe-LI-cu-la.
• With the accent, it must be stressed on lí: pe-LÍ-cu-la.

So you say pe-LÍ-cu-la.
It doesn’t change the meaning here, just the pronunciation and correct spelling.

What does larguísima mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Larguísima is an absolute superlative meaning very, very long or extremely long.

It’s formed from the adjective largo (long):

1. Take the stem larg-
2. Add -uísimo / -uísima
   
   • largo → larguísimo (masc.)
   • larga → larguísima (fem.)

Because película is feminine and singular, the adjective becomes larguísima to agree with it.

What’s the difference between larguísima and muy larga?

Both mean very long, but:

• muy larga = very long (neutral, more common, less emphatic)
• larguísima = extremely / incredibly long (more expressive, a bit stronger)

You normally don’t say muy larguísima. Either:

• muy larga, or
• larguísima,

but not both together.

Why is larguísima after película, while in English the adjective goes before the noun?

In Spanish the usual order is:

• noun + adjective

So:

• la película interesante = the interesting film
• una película larguísima = a very long film

Putting both adjectives after the noun (Esa película es larguísima pero interesante) is the standard pattern.
Adjectives can sometimes go before the noun for stylistic or meaning reasons, but the basic default order is after.

Why does larguísima end in -a but interesante doesn’t change?

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

• película is feminine, singular → adjectives that change must be feminine, singular too.

Larguísima comes from largo:

• largo (m. sing.), larga (f. sing.)
• larguísimos (m. pl.), larguísimas (f. pl.)

So with película you need larguísima.

Interesante is an adjective that has one form for masculine and feminine:

• un libro interesante (m.)
• una película interesante (f.)

It only changes for plural:

• libros interesantes
• películas interesantes

Why is it es and not está?

Spanish uses ser and estar differently:

• ser (es) → more permanent or essential characteristics:

  • Esa película es larguísima. (Being long is a basic trait of the film.)
  • Esa película es interesante. (Its nature is interesting.)

• estar (está) → temporary states, locations, results of change:

  • La película está disponible en Netflix.
  • Estoy interesado.

So for describing what the film is like as a work, es is the natural choice.

Why is it pero and not sino?

Both can be translated as but, but they’re used differently:

• pero = but in the sense of adding a contrast:

  • Es larguísima, pero interesante.
    It’s very long, but (even so) interesting.

• sino = but rather / but instead, usually after a negative:

  • No es aburrida, sino interesante.
    It’s not boring, but rather interesting.

Our sentence is not correcting a negative idea; it’s just contrasting two facts, so pero is correct.

Could I drop película and just say Esa es larguísima pero interesante?

Yes, if película is already clear from context, you can say:

• Esa es larguísima pero interesante.

In that case, esa is no longer an adjective; it becomes a demonstrative pronoun meaning that one.

But in a first mention, or if you want to be clear what you’re talking about, it’s more natural to say Esa película….

If the noun were masculine or plural, how would the sentence change?

You must change the demonstrative and any agreeing adjectives.

• Masculine singular (e.g. ese documental):

  • Ese documental es larguísimo pero interesante.

• Feminine plural (e.g. esas películas):

  • Esas películas son larguísimas pero interesantes.

• Masculine plural (e.g. esos documentales):

  • Esos documentales son larguísimos pero interesantes.

Notice: demonstrative, verb, and adjectives all change to match the new noun.