About whether 'The Desperate Heirs' is similar to 'Knives Out' and what makes this Spanish film noteworthy – in our review.

The Spanish comedy 'The Desperate Heirs' is compared to the American detective film 'Knives Out', which is also a comedy; even the posters and overall plot outlines are similar. Nevertheless, 'The Heirs' is a light, albeit quite eccentric, film about people who cannot get along within the same family, holding grievances against each other, their father, and life in general.

The film is also unlike typical comedies about teaching spoiled rich kids a lesson. This time, there will be no punishments and subsequent reforms, but the characters will still have to realize their place both in the family and in the world. Doing this without money problems is, of course, easier than in the opposite situation.

Notably, the posthumous letters of instruction to each offspring of the wealthy family are left not by the father—he is alive and well—but by the nanny named Amparo (Luisa Gavasa), or as the children affectionately called her many years ago, Amparito.

Amparito held together the entire huge country house where the characters had not been since childhood. All three have their own reasons (read: secrets) for not returning. However, the nanny dies, and her last wish is to be buried in the Gallardo family crypt.

Each of the heirs has their own character and storyline: the eldest Teresa (Inma Cuesta) is a businesswoman used to handling everything herself; the middle child Benja (Diego Martín) cannot seem to get a promotion, and even his wife earns more, which is mentioned several times throughout the plot; and the youngest, party girl and beauty Aura (Sara Sálamo), is used to throwing money around and dating much older men.

It would seem like another standard set of archetypes of obscenely rich heirs who can only humiliate waitresses or anyone lower on the social ladder. However, with the appearance of Tomás (Alfonso Bassave), Amparito's son, the plot becomes a bit more piquant, but without descending into farce.

At this moment, those letters come to light, containing the most unpleasant secrets of each character. And while in 'Knives Out' the focus is on the detective element, 'The Heirs' are not looking for a murderer but step by step come to themselves, to their true human values, which are hard to see through the dense golden veneer of a wealthy life.

Notably, the creators (director Juana Macías and screenwriters Cristóbal Garrido, Adolfo Valor) believe in their characters and see them primarily as people, not a class issue, which makes 'The Desperate Heirs' a light and pleasant film to spend an evening with.

Trailer: