Mister Designer

Mister Designer is a 1987 Soviet horror film produced and directed by Oleg Teptsov, and based on the short story The Gray Automobile by Alexander Grin. Plot 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.