IELTS cue card: «Describe a film you enjoyed watching», пример ответа

Describe a film you enjoyed watching.

You should say:

what the film was

when and where you watched it

what it was about

and explain why you enjoyed it.

I'd like to talk about The Pursuit of Happyness, an American drama starring Will Smith. It came out quite a long time ago, but I only watched it last winter.

I watched it at home with my dad one evening. He'd seen it years before and kept saying I had to watch it, so eventually I gave in.

Without giving too much away, it's based on the true story of a father who loses almost everything, including his home, while he's doing an unpaid internship at a big company. He's raising his young son on his own at the same time, and some nights they have nowhere to sleep.

I enjoyed it for a few reasons. First of all, the acting is brilliant; there's a scene in a subway station that's honestly one of the saddest things I've ever seen on screen. But mostly, it was the experience of watching it with my dad. At one point I looked over and realised he was quietly crying, and that told me a lot about how hard things had been for our family when I was little, which he'd never really talked about.

It's a film about not giving up, and I think of it whenever I'm finding my studies difficult.

Why do people enjoy watching sad films?

I think they let us feel strong emotions safely. You can cry about someone else's problems for two hours and come out feeling lighter, and sad films often make people appreciate what they have.

Will cinemas disappear because of streaming?

I doubt they'll disappear completely. Streaming is cheaper and more convenient, but watching a big film on a huge screen with an audience is a social event that's hard to recreate at home.

Should films based on true stories be completely accurate?

What makes a film successful in your country?