''Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of Sodoma'' (or simply ''Lipton Cockton'') is a 1995 Finnish

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

written and directed by

Jari Halonen Jari Juhani Halonen (born 30 September 1962) is a Finnish film and theatre director, writer and occasional actor. Known as a controversial and outspoken person, his films, such as '' Back to the USSR'' (1992), '' Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of S ...

. It tells the story of a

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

living in a near-future

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

who begins to investigate unexplained explosion deaths. The film stars

Jorma Tommila Jorma can refer to: *Jorma (name), Finnish given name *Jorma (album), released by Kaukonen in 1979 *Jorma (wine), a Finnish wine *nowadays in Finnish language ''jorma'' is a very well-known slang word that means penis A penis (plural ''p ...

. Halonen has said in the 2011 interview that

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

's ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'',

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

's '' Alphaville'' and

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

's ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' served as inspirations for the film. Halonen has said that he wanted to deal with criticism of

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...

and its effect on humanity in the theme of film. During the production process, the creators aimed at foreign markets, but the success both at the domestic box office and in foreign sales remained modest. Instead, the film toured many festivals, such as at the 1995

Fantasy Filmfest The Fantasy Filmfest, short FFF, is an international genre film festival held annually around September in major Germany, German cities. Award In 2006, the Fantasy Filmfest established an audience award, named ''Fresh Blood Award'', for the bes ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Jukka Uusitalo Jukka () is a common Finnish given name for males. History Jukka is an old variant of the name Johannes, a biblical name spread over to Finland through Sweden with the introduction of Christianity. Jukka remained a nickname for people registere ...

Ilmari Hakala Ilmari is a Finnish male given name. It is a short form of Ilmarinen, a mythological smith in the Kalevala. Notable people with the name include: * Ilmari Aalto (1891–1934), Finnish painter * Ilmari Auer (1879–1965), Finnish politician *Ilmar ...

and Jouni Nikkanen won the

Jussi Awards The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

for best production design in 1996.

Plot

The year is 2037. The peripheral regions of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, united into a giant federal state, have weakened sharply, which has caused huge migrations. The events focus on Vladivostok, the easternmost metropolis of the federal state, in which a person explodes in the

Ugrian The Ugric or Ugrian languages ( or ) are a proposed branch of the Uralic language family. The name Ugric is derived from Ugrians, an archaic exonym for the Magyars (Hungarians) and Yugra, a region in northwest Russia. Ugric includes three s ...

district. Federal Police Chief Brand Marlon (

) hires private investigator Lipton Cockton (

) to investigate this terrifying series of serial murders. In connection with the investigation, Cockton befriends a

fighting cock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

destined to be eaten, while at the same time drifting towards experiments organized by a mega-corporation LTD-Productions, experiencing a journey from a decayed social system and a failed human life towards the light of reality, the understanding of which makes the detective reflect on his problematic relationship with his mother (Iris-Lilja Lassila) and his

sexual identity Sexual identity is how one thinks of oneself in terms of to whom one is romantically and/or sexually attracted.
''Sex ...

, to which the

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

-looking woman Dazzle Dent (

Outi Mäenpää Outi Mäenpää (born 24 February 1962) is a Finnish actress. Mäenpää was born in Helsinki. She began her career in theatre as a stage actor between 1984 and 1988. Life Since 1989 she has appeared regularly on Finnish television, with over ...

) somehow seems to be related.

Cast

as Lipton Cockton / Launo Käkkyrä * Tarja-Tuulikki Tarsala as She-Detective * Hannu Huuska as Edgar Hampton *

as Dazzle Dent *

Rauno Juvonen Rauno is an Estonian and Finnish masculine given name, and may refer to: * Rauno Aaltonen (born 1938), Finnish former professional rally driver * Rauno Alliku (born 1990), Estonian professional footballer * Rauno Bies (born 1961), Finnish former ...

as prostitute * Iris-Lilja Lassila as Lipton Cockton's mother *

as Brand Marlon * Riitta Pasanen as Eartha *

Pentti Korhonen Pentti Korhonen (born 14 June 1951) is a Finnish former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between 1969 to 1979. Korhonen was born in Rantasalmi, Finland. He had his most successful year in 1975 whe ...

as George the bartender * Abdeslam Chellaf as Kent Lumumba

Reception

Helena Ylänen from ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'' said in her review that "Halonen's visions are an interesting combination of theatricality and modern action cinema", adding that "the expression is very full; there is a lot of stuff in the images, there are layers in the sound." Paavo Ihalainen from ''Elitisti'' praises "Halonen's ingenuity to create a powerful visual environment with little money thanks to his theater experience."

References

External links

* *
Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of Sodoma
' at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

{{Jari Halonen 1990s dystopian films 1995 science fiction films Films about sexuality Films about trans men Films directed by Jari Halonen Films shot in Finland Finnish crime films Finnish detective films Finnish science fiction films Finnish thriller films Films about gang rape

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links