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Is it possible to understand English movies perfectly being a non-native speaker?

-Zenghiaro-
I'm 17y and think my English has improved to a good level. I can hold entire conversations confidently, read English literature without translating 99% of the words used. But I've been struggling to understand the actors' speech, what surprises me because I'm able to listen clearly to the spoken English used by youtubers/podcasters/streamers. I've read a lot of accounts about that. Apparently, there are native speakers that complain about this too, they blame the audio mixing and the new trends to mumbling when it comes to acting. But, on the other hand, my friend, who is a non-native speaker like me, is able to understand perfectly without subtitles, even though he's never been to foreign countries (we're Brazilians). So I'm a little confused about who I should believe. Is it worth putting much effort into that or is it over for me? And I want to know if you (non-native speaker) are able to understand English movies perfectly or almost perfectly.

22 comments

lithomangcc•
Some audio mixing is poor and I need subtitles and I am a native speaker. I turned off Dolby encoding on my cable box that helped.
FloridaFlamingoGirl•
It depends on the movie. There are some films where the audio is mixed badly. There are some films where the actors talk in a heavy regional accent that I'm not super familiar with and so I don't pick up on every word (Banshees of Inisherin is one of those for me). Even if neither of those factors are there, sometimes my brain just wanders to other things while I'm watching a movie. Yes, I would say it is possible to learn enough English to have no problems understanding an English movie, but movies can have the same understanding obstacles that just having a conversation with someone can have. Because even if you're fluent in English, someone can slip up or be hard to comprehend in a conversation. No one is perfect at communicating or understanding. 
Asleep-Eggplant-6337•
He probably has a much bigger vocab size than you do. I live in US and has vocab size of 10000+ but I can’t understand movies without subtitles
itanpiuco2020•
Yes and no. There are some movies that require context, pop culture references, and an understanding of the culture itself—things some viewers might not grasp unless they watch the film twice or do in-depth research. However, those subtle details usually do not prevent one from enjoying the film. *Get Out* (2017), for example, requires some knowledge of issues in the US. If you’ve seen the alternate ending where the police arrive, the impact of that scene is quite different. Those unfamiliar with the cultural implications may need additional explanation, even if their English is excellent. Another example is *The Naked Gun 2*, which includes a picture of O.J. Simpson—something that also requires additional cultural knowledge to fully understand the reference. Other than that I believe you can enjoy movies and understand them with minimal effort on your end.
Flam1ng1cecream•
Being a native speaker helps tremendously in decoding mumbling. My advice: turn on English subtitles. Many native speakers do
M_HP•
I grew up in a European country where all foreign-language programming was/is subtitled, so that's what I'm used to. I listen to a lot of English-language content, like podcasts and audiobooks with no issues, but like to watch my movies and shows with English subtitles. Even if 95% of the dialogue is clear, it annoys me if I miss just that 5% when an actor mumbles. (I also usually eat while watching stuff, so the crunch inside my ears also sometimes makes it harder to hear things clearly!)
Helpful-Reputation-5•
I'm able to understand movies with no effort usually, unless they are too quiet—songs, on the other hand, I will have no idea what they are saying in any language.
glitterfaust•
I’m a native speaker but I’m with you. YouTube I’m fine but movies I HAVE to have captions for. I legitimately cannot make out what they’re saying, I can just hear that they’re talking.
StrongTxWoman•
It depends on the movies and the accents they use. I live in the US. I am pretty okay with American movies. Some scenes can be difficult if they have many background noises or multiple people are talking at the same time. I have hard time understanding British movies 20 to 25 % of the times. Surprisingly, I understand swedish English very well.
fattyiam•
I'm a native speaker and I use subtitles. I don't know if I genuinely just have awful audio processing but many movies (especially if I watch them in the theatre) are just difficult to understand for me as well. Actors mumble a lot and on top of that they can be also speaking in accents, which can hinder comprehension. I see some people as well say that movies these days have awful audio mixing, which I don't know if I believe since I know nothing about that particular field. But I do know I really couldn't understand 70% of Oppenheimer when I went to see it in theatres and Sinners was also kind of difficult to understand for me. So don't really feel bad about it. It's kind of a growing meme amongst native English speakers how hard movie dialogue can be to understand nowadays.
choobie-doobie•
being an English speaking native isn't a guarantee someone will understand a movie. not being an English speaking native isn't a guarantee someone will not understand a movie so yes and no
saifr•
Pra mim, o áudios dos atores é MUITO baixo, dá pra ouvir nada. Os efeitos são de explodir o ouvido mas os atores parecem que estão contando um segredo o filme inteiro. É muito estranho
shedmow•
I'm used to a majority of accents due to haphazardly reading articles on phonetics and a severe youtube overdose; I do resort to subtitles, but it happens once per two hours of watch time, usually on obscure words. It's been about two years since I was first been able to turn the subs off and relievedly listen to the narrator. The already mentioned issue of cultural differences exists, but I regard it as a treat for those who get it rather than a hindrance for those who don't
no-Mangos-in-Bed•
Aside from accents, or pop culture references as a barrier. Some films are very artistic and philosophical. Words can mean different things than they seem to mean or have double or triple meanings. You can understand the words without grasping the meaning or intent behind the words. Also English is, I believe, one of the languages with the most words. Supposedly 4th in number of words in the dictionary and either first or second after Arabic for number of words. Slang and idioms may be contributing. Your friend may have learned more vernacular while you may have learned more educational English. Regardless, more exposure will help understanding. I was learning Chinese and watching dramas. Someone I was practicing with pointed out that the language used in dramas I was watching was a bit old fashioned. Like listening to Shakespeare to learn English rather than friends or something similar.
Roadshell•
Youtubers/Podcasters/Streamers are talking directly into microphones with the full intention of having their speech understood by an audience whereas movie dialogue is more conversational and will reflect the imperfections of actual human speech (mumbling, whispering, talking over people, etc) so it's necessarily going t be more challenging.
Xyre7007•
From my personal experience as a non-native speaker with pretty good English, having worked with native English speakers without any difficulty in communicaitng with them, and having watched tons of Hollywood, I'd say, no. It's not possible to perfectly understand the English being spoken in movies without subtitles. The key word here is "prefectly". While some may understand better than others, I'm pretty sure no non-native speaker can claim being able to understand perfectly whatever is spoken in the movies. Also, some movies can be easier to understand than others. But on average i.e. an average non-native English speaker who's otherwise good at English watching an average English language movie, "perfectly" would not be the word that describes their understanding of what's being spoken in the movie.
ALedMess•
Just practice more listening and you'll be fine. I learnt English only watching tv series and movies so to me it's second nature now. I don't need subtitles most of the time, even though sometimes they are useful. Some people were saying that you're might still not be able to grasp everything because you have to be familiar with American culture but even that is a matter of exposure. Enough tv series and movies will do the trick
Infinite_Crow_3706•
I'm a native speaker and some accents I'd struggle to keep up with (Trainspotting movie) especially spoken at speed. My wife is not a native speaker and she used subtitles but 90% of the time they're superfluous
ajar_v•
You think it's you who is unable to understand what they speak in the movies! No, it's not you. It's the same with all of us. Watch this short documentary, and you won't doubt yourself ever again in terms of the pathetic quality of audio in movies, especially English ones. [Degrading audio quality of English movies.](https://youtu.be/wHYkEfIEhO4)
epicfilemcnulty•
Cultural references aside, if we talk just about different accents -- surely it will come to you with practice. For example, when I first watched "The Wire" I could not understand most of it without subtitles. So I watched it a couple of times with subtitles on, rewinding & listening several times to the phrases that were the most difficult to understand for me, saying them out loud, etc. Now when I occasionally feel like rewatching "the wire" it's all crystal clear for me, and I tease my wife (her english is very good, but she is also a non-native speaker): "Did you understand what this guy say?" -- and she's like "That's impossible to understand" =) Just watch a lot of movies/series with different accents, make it a habit to listen really hard and practice repeating difficult phrases, imitating the same accent. It will pay off eventually.
evasandor•
A lot of us can’t understand movies and songs anymore. The way they’re recorded is for different speakers than we have and it’s all just a blur. Many native speakers turn the captions on.
KindBeing_Yeah•
I’m also a non-native speaker, and while I can follow YouTube videos and podcasts easily, movies and shows sometimes feel like a whole different challenge. The mix of accents, mumbling, and background noise makes it tough even native speakers struggle with it, so don’t feel discouraged! It’s definitely worth practicing, though, since exposure helps over time.