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Describe a film you enjoyed watching

The trap is retelling the whole plot, which swallows the two minutes and leaves "why you enjoyed it" as one line. Summarise the story in three or four sentences in the present simple, then spend your time on the viewing and your reasons.

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe a film you enjoyed watching.

You should say:

what it was about
when and where you watched it
who you watched it with
and explain why you enjoyed it

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

what it was aboutCoco: Miguel, music ban, Land of the Dead
when and where you watched itAll Saints' weekend, Gran's flat, Wrocław
who you watched it withGran, who never watches cartoons
and explain why you enjoyed itremembering the dead, like our candles

Sample answers

230 words · about 2:00 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I'd like to talk about the film Coco, which is an animated film from Pixar. It's about a Mexican boy called Miguel who loves music, but his family hates music because many years ago his great-great-grandfather left the family for becoming a musician. On the Day of the Dead, Miguel goes by accident into the Land of the Dead, and he must to get back before sunrise. There he meets a man called Héctor, and at the end he finds out that Héctor is actually his real ancestor.

I watched it two years ago, at the beginning of November, at my grandmother's flat in Wrocław. It was the weekend of All Saints' Day, which is a very important holiday in Poland, when everybody visit the cemetery and lights candles on the graves of their family.

I watched it with my grandmother. She doesn't watch many films, and never cartoons, so I was a bit worried she will be bored. We put the Polish version so she could understand everything.

I enjoyed it because the story is very similar with our tradition. In the film, the dead people disappear when nobody remembers them, and that's exactly why we visit the graves. At the end, when Miguel sings to his old great-grandmother, my grandmother started crying, and then I was crying too. It was a very touching moment for both of us.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

left the family for becoming a musician should be left the family to become a musician
goes by accident into the Land should be accidentally ends up in the Land
he must to get back should be he must get back
everybody visit the cemetery should be everybody visits the cemetery
she will be bored should be she would be bored
We put the Polish version should be We put on the Polish version
very similar with our tradition should be very similar to our tradition

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing and clear, with all four bullets covered and a moving moment at the end. It stays at Band 6 because the plot summary takes up a large share of the answer, and the bullets are introduced in the same plain way ("I watched it", "I watched it with").
Vocabulary: Enough vocabulary for the topic ("animated film", "ancestor", "touching moment"), but some usage is off: "goes by accident into" is an awkward way to describe ending up somewhere, and "very similar with" takes the wrong preposition. Band 7 needs a more precise, flexible range.
Grammar: Attempts relative clauses and reported thoughts, but errors appear where the structure is more complex: "he must to get back" adds to after a modal, "she will be bored" doesn't shift into the past, and "everybody visit" breaks agreement. That is Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

266 words · about 2:03 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The film I'd like to talk about is Coco, the Pixar animation. It's about a twelve-year-old Mexican boy, Miguel, who dreams of being a musician, even though music has been banned in his family for generations because a great-great-grandfather walked out on them to follow his career. On the Day of the Dead, Miguel ends up trapped in the Land of the Dead, and he has to get his family's blessing to return before sunrise, with the help of a charming trickster called Héctor, who turns out to be far more important than he seems.

I watched it a couple of years ago, on the first weekend of November, at my grandmother's flat in Wrocław. The timing was perfect, because that's when we celebrate All Saints' Day in Poland, when practically the whole country goes to the cemeteries to light candles on family graves.

I watched it with my grandmother, which was a slight gamble, since she doesn't really do films, let alone cartoons. We put on the dubbed version so she could follow it, and I fully expected her to doze off in the first twenty minutes.

What I loved was how closely it mirrored our own traditions. In the film, the dead only vanish completely when nobody alive remembers them, which is more or less why we light those candles every year. And at the end, when Miguel sings to his elderly great-grandmother and she finally remembers her father, I glanced over and my grandmother had tears running down her face, which set me off as well. It's a film we both still mention.

The slips

to follow his career should be to pursue a career in music

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length easily and keeps the plot to a single paragraph, leaving room for the reasons ("What I loved was how closely it mirrored our own traditions"). Not Band 8 because the middle bullets are introduced in a similar way ("I watched it", "I watched it with"), which sounds slightly mechanical.
Vocabulary: Some less common and idiomatic language: "walked out on them", "a slight gamble", "doze off", "set me off as well". Band 8 would avoid the slightly mismatched collocation "to follow his career" and sustain precision throughout.
Grammar: A good range used accurately: a present perfect passive ("has been banned"), relative clauses, "let alone", and a participle phrase in the closing scene ("tears running down her face"). Not Band 8 because most sentences follow familiar patterns.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

279 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 8 pace

I'd like to talk about Coco, Pixar's animated film set around the Mexican Day of the Dead. Its hero is Miguel, a twelve-year-old who longs to be a musician in a family that has banned music ever since an ancestor abandoned them to chase fame. Through a series of mishaps, he finds himself stranded in the Land of the Dead, where he needs a relative's blessing to get home before sunrise, and he teams up with Héctor, a down-on-his-luck trickster whose real connection to Miguel is the twist the whole story hinges on.

I saw it a couple of years ago, on the first weekend of November, curled up on the sofa in my grandmother's flat in Wrocław. The timing was no accident. It was the All Saints' Day weekend, when Poles flock to cemeteries to light candles on their relatives' graves, so the subject felt oddly fitting.

My companion was my grandmother, which, I'll admit, was a calculated risk. She's never had much time for cinema, and for animation even less, so I put on the dubbed version and braced myself for her to nod off.

In fact, she was gripped, and that's a large part of why I treasure it. The film's central idea, that the dead only truly disappear when the living stop remembering them, is almost exactly what our candles on All Saints' Day are about, and you could see her recognising it. When Miguel sings to his frail great-grandmother and the old woman finally remembers her father, my grandmother quietly reached for my hand, and neither of us said anything for a good few minutes. It's that silence I remember more than any scene.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent, with the plot compressed into one tight paragraph and the reasons built around a single moment ("It's that silence I remember more than any scene"). Band 9 would vary its transitions slightly more than "In fact" and "When".
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "chase fame", "down-on-his-luck trickster", "the twist the whole story hinges on", "a calculated risk", "braced myself". The gap to Band 9 is the odd stock phrase, such as "no accident".
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: a present perfect with "ever since", relative clauses including "whose", an appositive clause ("that the dead only truly disappear") and a cleft sentence to finish. No errors.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Do you prefer watching films at home or at the cinema?: For big action films, the cinema, without a doubt. But for something emotional like Coco, I actually prefer home, because you can react however you like without worrying about strangers around you.
Why are some films so popular around the world?: I think the most successful ones are rooted in a specific culture but deal with universal feelings. Coco is very Mexican, yet anyone who has lost a grandparent understands it immediately.