| Mister Designer | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Oleg Teptsov |
| Producer: | Oleg Teptsov |
| Story: | Alexander Grin |
| Music: | Sergey Kuryokhin |
| Cinematography: | Anatoly Lapshov |
| Editing: | Irina Gorokhovskaya |
| Studio: | Lenfilm |
| Runtime: | 103 minutes |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
| Language: | Russian |
Mister Designer (Russian: Господин оформитель|Gospodin oformitel) is a 1987 Soviet horror film produced and directed by Oleg Teptsov, and based on the short story The Gray Automobile by Alexander Grin.[1] [2]
In 1908 St. Petersburg, famous artist-designer Platon Andreevich wants to prolong the life of Man by sculpting and drawing, trying to overcome death and improve the world around him with the help of his talent. For many years he does not give rest to the idea of a contest with the Almighty. He, the author of magnificent wax mannequins, wants to create something perfect and eternal, not amenable to the passage of time.
After the opening of a musical play with set and costumes designed by him, Platon receives an order from a jeweler to decorate his shop window. In search of a model for making a mannequin for the showcase, the artist finds Anna, a young girl, fatally ill with consumption, and sculpts his best mannequin from her, putting his whole soul into work. Anna flees the studio before Platon has the chance to pay her. Some time passes and the year 1914 is about to arrive. The well-known artist has fallen into oblivion, things are not going so well as in the old days. Due to creative crisis, the artist begins to abuse morphine, he is threatened with complete ruin.
In extreme need, Platon Andreevich accepts the offer of a rich businessman by the name of Grilliot, to decorate the interior of his mansion. They travel to the mansion on a grey car that belongs to the rich man. Grilliot's wife Maria leads Platon into confusion: he is convinced that a few years ago it was from her, when she bore the name Anna Beletskaya, he molded his best wax mannequin. But Maria tells him that she has never seen an artist before, and knows nothing about Anna. After all attempts to retrieve the truth, she only tells the designer to forget about Anna.
Platon Andreevich proposes to Maria/Anna, but receives a refusal: she tells him that he is too poor. Thanks to an incredible chance, at a poker game the designer wins a huge fortune from Grilliot, and makes his offer again, and again receives a refusal. She wouldn't stay with the madman who keeps calling her by another woman's name. The designer seeks to prove Maria is Anna, but he only finds the proof to the opposite. He finds Anna's tomb in a graveyard. In his workshop, he finds Anna's mummy that he believed was a mannequin. He starts to believe that Maria is his sculpture that became alive.
Gradually losing grasp of reality, Platon goes to Grilliot's house, and is almost run over by the grey car. He discovers than Grilliot is dead and a wake is being held. His widow reconsidered Platon's proposal and is ready to marry him now. However, Platon accuses her of being a "doll" that took the place of a real person, and assault her with burning log. The heat from the log temporarily melts her face, exposing her to be an artificial being. The servant who drives the grey car shoots Platon, who is believed dead. Maria's face magically returns to normal. After a funeral is set up for Platon, he opens his eyes, and escapes the mansion despite being wounded, but has one last fateful encounter with the grey car.
The film won the Nika Award for Best Costume Design by Larisa Konnikova.[3]