Xosé A.Youriñán, Federico Pérez Rey, and Miguel de Lira
Three sisters and their mother run a winery in Galicia, which is efficiently managed by Cuca (Yolanda Muíños), one of the siblings. The men in their lives are not quite as efficient. Cuca is married to Eduardo (Miguel de Lira), and Sabonis (Xosé A. Touriñán), his lazy brother- in- law, is married to sister Peque (María Vázquez). The third sister Mati (Eva Fernández), is a cop. There is great excitement as they are about to launch a new wine and the Vineyard is finally starting to break even. It is definitely not a good time for Eduardo to admit he never managed to obtain the vital safety certificate when they built a care-home that burnt down. Without it, the insurance company is claiming indemnification of 250,000 euros. It turned out the wood from Mexico, provided by Paki Granxa’s imposing Alicia, boss of the Zamora company, was not as ‘safe’ as claimed and, despite all their efforts, no certificate is forthcoming.
Cuca ( Yolanda Muíños, Eva Fernández, and María Vázquez
A frantic Eduardo and his brother-in- law Sabonis) decide to take matters into their own hands in an attempt to get the much-needed funds. Seeing that they will be liable for a quarter of a million Euros, Eduardo and Sabonis decide to kidnap Modesto (Federico Pérez Rey) hoping his wealthy sister-in-law, Alicia, who got them into the mess in the first place, will pay the ransom and solve all their problems.
Needless to say, nothing goes according to plan. Erstwhile victim, Modesto manages to convince his ‘kidnappers’ that Alicia is far too miserly to contemplate paying a ransom. But, having got wind of an illegal deal she is making with a Portuguese crook, (involving a ton of octopuses), the brothers-in-law decide to join forces with Modesto and change tack. Meanwhile, Sabonis’ wife, Peque, demands a divorce, fed up with being buried under with the kids, while he lounges about watching basketball, forgetting all the chores. The matriarch Aurelia, (Mela Vasal) struggles to keep the family together.
Poster
Sabonis used to be a star basketball player who was knocked out of his ‘dazzling’ prospects due to an injury. This is still a painful thorn in his side and he has turned into a lazy slob with uncontrolled fits of temper. However, an actual break-up with his wife is more than he bargained for as he lands on his brother-in-law Eduardo’ sofa. Eduardo’s wife Cuca is none too pleased.
Meanwhile, third sister Mati and her police colleagues have also got wind of the illegal deal between the miserly Alicia and the Portuguese crook and start to move in on the action. Eduardo, Modesto and Sabonis have to win out somehow, but things do not appear to be going their way at all, especially with the police are hot on everybody’s tail and the finals of the year’s basketball championship is dominating everyone’s mind.
Toño López
This feel-good comedy from Toño López has everything going for it. Humour on many levels, visual gags, slapstick, family tensions, a heist, a kidnapping, plenty good wine and the police chasing everyone from all sides. It is a fun romp and a genuinely nicely-devised caper.
Born in 1971 in Ourense, Galicia in Spain, Toño López has made a name for himself directing TV series like Matalobos (2009), Auga Seca (2021), Luci (2015) and The Avators (2014)
Cuñados (Brothers-in-Law) 2021 has been screened at the2021 London Spanish Film Festival.
It is yet to be released in the UK, but worth the wait.
Director Toño López
Script Araceli Gonda
DOP Jaime Pérez
Editor Lu Rodriguez
Music Santi Jul and Ivan Laxe
Producer Alfonso Blanco
Cast: María Vazquez, Yolanda Muíños, Miguel de Lira, Xosé A. Touriñán, Paku Granxa, Mela Casal and the delightful Moraima Duarte as the child.
