Mister Designer
| Mister Designer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Oleg Teptsov |
| Written by | Yuri Arabov |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Sergey Kuryokhin |
| Cinematography | Anatoly Lapshov |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Mister Designer (Russian: Господин оформитель, translit. Gospodin oformitel) is a 1988 Soviet horror film by Oleg Teptsov based on the short story The Gray Automobile by Alexander Grin.[1][2]
Plot
The action takes place in St. Petersburg in 1908-1914. The famous artist-designer, Platon Andreevich, wants to prolong the life of a 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.
In 1908, the artist receives an order from a jeweler to decorate the shop window. In search of a model for making a mannequin for a 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.
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.
Once upon a time, in extreme need, Platon Andreevich accepts the offer of a certain rich businessman by the name of Grillo to decorate the interior of his house. Acquaintance with Maria, wife of the master, leads the artist 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 the girl, but receives a refusal: Maria tells him that he is too poor. Thanks to an incredible chance, the designer wins a huge fortune from Maria's husband and makes his offer again, and again receives a refusal. Here, the understandable course of events changes its course, and there comes a terrible denouement: the girl is that same sculpture created by him, which became animate.
By the will of evil fate, the artist's dream comes true, his creations have acquired life. But the humanoid object, created in an effort to surpass god's creatures, takes on the lowest and most destructive properties: Maria kills Grillo and takes possession of his house. Her next victim is the artist. The artist perishes under the wheels of a gray car, in which Maria and nameless representatives of the otherworldly dark forces are traveling.
Cast
- Viktor Avilov (debut in the movie) - Platon Andreevich
- Anna Demyanenko - Anna / Maria
- Mikhail Kozakov - Grillo (in the story of A. Greene - Grigno)
- Ivan I. Krasko - servant
- Vadim Lobanov - jeweler
- Valentina Malakhieva - the old woman
- Konstantin Lukashov - cemetery watchman
- Svetlana Panfilova - nun
- Yuri Aroyan - second cemetery watchman
- Vladimir Minyailo - officer
- Azamat Bagirov - card player
- Yuri Bashkov - croupier
Awards
The film won the Nika Award for Best Costume Design by Larisa Konnikova.[3]