Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of Sodoma is a dystopian science fiction film with a symbolic narrative about how hard-line masculinity has perverted the world.
The events of the movie take place in the Ugric ghetto of Vladivostok, a peripheral mega-city in the European Federation in the future. The main characters speak Finnish, a Finno-Ugric language, but also both English and Russian are heard and they appear to be more prestigious languages in the society. The city infrastructure is crumbling in the ghetto and people are poor. 80% of the populace earn meager living by subjecting themselves to medical experiments for multinational corporations. The world is in an environmental and social crisis.
A series of deaths of inexplicably exploding people has caused a wave of terror among the populace that could destabilize the government, which is unable to protect them. Lipton Cockton, a lone über manly detective (played by Jorma Tommila of Rare Exports fame), is on the case. The government sends a sadistic federal officer (played by director Jari Halonen himself) to take lead of the investigation and to bring it to the conclusion at any cost. In the following torturous days Cockton finds out that the real threat is not some lone lunatic bomber but the system, for whose protection he has dedicated his life.
The film looks good and believable in spite of the low budget. This is achieved by excellent staging and lighting. The entire film takes place in crumbling urban surroundings, so there aren't any spectacular sci-fi sights except for the futuristic subway. Some props require suspension of disbelief, like Cockton's three-wheeled vehicle and the robot in front of Apocalypse Gallery.
The actors are convincing though they play absurd roles in an absurd story. Cockton doesn't seem to do much actual detective work, he just wanders around the city and bumps into clues. The main thread of the story seems to be about blows to Cockton's masculinity. Anyway, lack of character motivation is the biggest weakness of the film. Fifteen minutes before the end I was worried is the director able to draw the story to a satisfying conclusion. Fortunately he is. The story unfolds nicely and Cockton makes a choice between regaining his masculinity and something else.
All in all, Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of Sodoma is a satisfying movie watching experience. It is worth seeing for more than just its curiosity value.
