Rosa (Candela Pena) is a 45-year-old who lives and works in Valencia as a costume designer for films, but she is also practically the only reliable person and support for her entire rather dysfunctional family. Both her brother Armando (Sergi Lopez) and sister Violeta (Nathalie Poza) left the care of their old and sick father Antonio (Ramon Barea) to Rossi, and as much as they could, they transferred all other responsibilities to her. Rosa has an adult daughter, Lydia (Paula Usero), who lives in England, but she will also appear on her mother’s doorstep with her problems and the twins she left with her husband. At some point Rossi will obviously overheat. She will no longer be able to endure everyone’s trust in her and take her for granted, so she will leave everything, go to her hometown and reopen the tailor’s shop of her late mother.
But that will not be all. To show all family members that she has become one new Rosa, she will organize a wedding with herself. Of course, all this will lead to a whole series of misunderstandings and the already chaotic family in which no one listens to anyone and everyone is in some of their own worries and problems and practically everyone looks only at themselves, will fall into even greater chaos. While perhaps the first story of the film, written and directed by the eminent Spanish actress who later turned into author Iciar Bollain, may seem sweet and out of self-help manual, it even works solidly. This is not one of those romantic comedies or humorous dramas that will make the viewer laugh, but it all seems real and real and the viewer can easily understand Rosa’s reasons for this move.
Marrying for herself will be more of a symbolic move and an event that she intended to mark the beginning of the continuation of life that she decided to live the way she wants, and not the way others want her to. But it is clear that when family members hear that Rosa is getting married, they will automatically think that it is a classic marriage and in a small Catalan town, relatives from all over Spain will come to mind. The story works here thanks not only to a solid script, but also to a quality cast led by Pena in the role of a somewhat subversive and twisted version of Cinderella. It exudes “Rosa’s Wedding” or “La boda de rosa” with some optimism, this film undoubtedly has a certain charm, regardless of the fact that it is not a thematic story that I normally prefer. She had “Rosa’s Wedding” and eight Goya Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Original Screenplay and Leading Actress, but won only two in the end – for Best Original Song and Pose for Supporting Actress. Rating 6.5 / 10.
MORE MOVIE REVIEWS: MAIXABEL (2021, ESP) Movie review, plot, trailer, rating