We’ve met Rosa before. She’s the sister or daughter whom the rest of the family relies upon whenever there’s a problem, large, small or just inconvenient.

In this case, she’s Spanish – an engagingly outgoing character who’s realised, at the age of 45, that it’s time she reclaimed her life and fulfilled a few desires of her own.

So far, so understandable but Icíar Bollain’s film starts to fray a bit when Rosa (Candela Pena) takes her resolution to whimsical extremes by deciding that she’s going to celebrate this new stage in her life with a symbolic wedding ceremony. She will invite her friends and family to come and watch her marry herself.

This was enough to put me on the brink of losing interest in Rosa and her plans but Bollain, one of Spain’s most prolific directors, is so adept at evoking domestic life, along with the multiple ways in which the members of a family can be unhappy without actually hating one another, that I found it easy to shelve my criticisms almost as far as the end titles.

The script appoints no villains. The worst vice on show is self-absorption. Rosa’s father, Antonio (Ramón Barea), who is still grieving over the death of her mother, has grown to love Rosa more than his other children simply because she’s around more often. Her sister, Violeta (Nathalie Poza), is too caught up with her job and the socialising that goes with it to notice what’s going on in anyone else’s life, and their brother, Armando, is worrying about his business as well as suffering a marriage breakdown. He’s played by Sergi Lopez, whose long career in both Spanish and French films has seen him cast across a broad moral spectrum – everything from dreamy romantic leads with a sense of humour to the sadistic fascist army officer in Pan’s Labyrinth. This time, he’s settled into grumpy middle age, pushed to breaking point by the fact that his wife is looking much happier now that she’s gained her independence than she ever did when they were together.

But whatever their troubles, all these characters are blessed with the vitality that distinguishes Spanish cinema and its actors. They have no patience for sitting around brooding. If something is on their minds, everybody should know about it and the storms that result will surely clear the air. And they’re usually right.

The film is set in Valencia and the coastal resort town of Benicàssim, where Rosa takes refuge while she prepares to take her leap into the future and despite the cheesiness of the climactic scene and the dialogue that goes with it, it’s a likeable film. The Spanish really do know how to turn histrionics into entertainment.