Directed by Icíar Bollaín
Starring Candela Peña, Sergi López, Ramón Barea, Paula Usero and Nathalie Poza

For the first time in a long time, I was fortunate enough to experience something quite simple, yet special during the opening night of the Moro Spanish Film Festival here in Melbourne; an absolutely jam-packed cinema filled with people in uproarious laughter. Even if this familial comedy from Spain didn’t provoke the same reaction from me, it was a night I will not be taking for granted and feel so grateful to have been a part of.

The winner of 2 of the 8 Goya Awards (Spanish Oscars) it was nominated for, Rosa’s Wedding has a very straightforward, yet slightly surreal premise with not a lot of plot trajectory whose mostly rather quirky characters both generate the comedy and predominantly drive the film. On the cusp of turning 45, Rosa (Candela Peña) barely has a minute to herself or a moment of silence. By day, she works as a costume designer for films and at every other waking hour she’s running an errand or doing a favour for a family member or friend. I mean heck, her hectic lifestyle even started to stress me out! But Rosa doesn’t know any other way. That is until she returns home one evening to an unexpected visit from her lonely father, Antonio (Ramón Barea) who rhetorically suggests he moves into Rosa’s spare bedroom. It’s an unwelcome request that acts as the catalyst for Rosa making sweeping and surprising changes to her life.

One of those sweeping and surprising changes won’t come as a surprise to us, given the film’s title, but certainly will to Rosa’s friends and family. Especially considering the closest thing Rosa has to a partner is a fellow named Rafa, who she shows barely interest in. Then again, she’s simply been too busy for love, as you may have fathomed. There is, however, a shock revelation regarding that titular wedding Rosa is keeping close to her heart that only a few guests are privy to, but that all will learn by when it’s time to walk down the aisle. This twist is essentially the headquarters of where a lot of the laughter to be had in this crowd-pleasing comedy will be derived. Witnessing the expected reactions of invitees, the understandable but incorrect assumptions that are made and the extremes things are taken to prior to the momentous occasion are certainly amusing and had the audience I shared the cinema with in frequent fits of laughter. This twist is where the film also derives some substance and genuine emotion, the latter courtesy of some very nice scenes shared between Rosa and her daughter, Lidia (Paula Usero).

Rosa’s Wedding is showing in cinemas across Australia from April 20 – May 16 as part of the Moro Spanish Film Festival. Check out the full program and grab your tickets via this link now!

Moviedoc thanks Moro, The Astor Theatre and Asha Holmes Publicity for the invitation to the opening night of the festival screening this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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