Bigga Than Ben (2008)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Suzie Halewood

Writer:

Suzie Halewood (writer)

Release Date:

24 July 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Beat the system, before it beats you

Plot:

Spiker & Cobakka are two self-confessed 'pieces of Moscow scum' who come to London to rip it off. This is their guide.

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ben Barnes	...	Cobakka
Andrey Chadov	...	Spiker
Ovidiu Matesan	...	Artash
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Terence Anderson	...	Sad Jamaican
Amy De Bhrún	...	Bookshop Girl (credit only)
Andrew Byron	...	Sergei
Mary-Ann Cafferkey	...	Cashback Tesco Girl
Cecilia Colby	...	Beautiful Aussie Girl
Naomi Cooper-Davis	...	Aussie Girl
Mervyn Etienne	...	Tube worker
Hero Fiennes-Tiffin	...	Spartak
Oliver Houston	...	Russian Gangster
Dado Jehan	...	Dodgy phone dealer
Alex Lawler	...	Phone salesman
Rad Lazar	...	Raoul the bookseller
Tunde Makinde	...	Nigerian Bank Clerk
Jeff Mirza	...	Dennis
Wendy Nottingham	...	Terrified shopper
Sean O'Callaghan	...	Patrick
Marcus O'Donovan	...	Russian Soldier
Mirela Pom	...	Receptionist girl
George Savvides	...	Iraqi Man
Alexander Wolpert	...	Iranian Shopkeeper

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

UK:15

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Bigga than Ben

Sweet movie

I first heard about "Bigga than Ben: A Russian's Guide to Ripping off London" in the The St. Petersburg Times while living in Russia two years ago. The movie is based on a book of the same title (now out of print and impossible to find) by Sergei Sakin and Pavel Tetesky. The book was somewhat of a cult hit, and was criticized in England for encouraging people to defraud the system and telling them exactly how to do it. Sakin and Tetesky fell apart after the book was published and seem to disagree over who even wrote some of it, but it was definitely co-authored.

Leaving Russia, Cobaka and Spikker are amazed by the material wealth of England, but also daunted by the task of establishing themselves in London. We follow them through their various misadventures, some of which are hilarious. The story never builds to a big climax, but I think that would have been unrealistic. The film stays true to its roots and its gritty low-budget look fits the story well. The only thing I found wanting was information about their scams and how they pulled them off - for instance the book supposedly contains a lot of calling card scams that weren't really in the movie.

This movie is cheap, short, funny, and good. Its a great film for any English-speakers who also speak Russian or are interested in Russia. And above all, Andrei Chadov (if you haven't see ZHIVOY, run, don't walk, to your video store and get it) and Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian), both put in awesome performances. They have a great chemistry and I can't imagine better casting for these roles - they also look a lot like the real-life duo, who are shown in a photo during the end credits. I'm hoping for Bigga than Ben 2!