Mister Designer

In 1908, Platon Andreevich, a gifted artist-designer, becomes obsessed with defying death by preserving the image of Man. He works with wax to craft mannequins and sculptures, pouring his soul into creating something time cannot diminish. He envisions a perfect likeness that could outlive him.

Following the debut of a play featuring sets and costumes of his design, Platon is hired by a jeweler to decorate a shop. He searches for a living model and finds Anna Beletskaya, sculpting a lifelike mannequin from her likeness. Anna flees the studio before Platon can pay her, leaving her fate uncertain.

Anna flees the studio before payment, leaving Platon with a memory of a living model and a ready-made likeness. He confronts the dilemma of what is real—the living person or the image he has carved. The episode marks the start of his growing fixation on an eternal form.

Over the following years, Platon's career stalls and his creative crisis deepens. He descends into morphine and becomes financially ruined as the studio grows quiet. The once-celebrated designer fights to stay relevant in a world that seems to pass him by.

Desperate for work, Platon accepts a commission to decorate the interior of Grilliot's mansion. He travels there in a gray car and enters a world far different from his theatre sets. The assignment rekindles ambition but also unsettles him.

At Grilliot's mansion, Platon meets Grilliot's wife Maria and is immediately struck by her resemblance to Anna. Maria denies knowing either Anna or Platon, planting doubt and complicating his obsession. The encounter unsettles him and fuels his longing.

By chance, Platon wins a huge fortune from Grilliot in a poker game and proposes again. She refuses him once more, insisting she is not suitable for a poor man with a history of obsession. The rejection drives him to pursue proof that she is Anna.

Driven by jealousy or madness, Platon searches for proof that Maria is Anna. He discovers Anna's tomb in a graveyard, a chilling sign that blurs the line between living beauty and tomb. The discovery deepens his conviction that Maria is somehow the living mannequin.

Back in his workshop, Platon finds Anna's mummy—what he believed to be a mannequin. He starts to believe Maria is his living sculpture come to life, feeding his fragile grip on reality. The line between art and life shatters.

Platon returns to Grilliot's house, driven into madness and almost run over by the gray car. He discovers that Grilliot is dead and a wake is being held for him, while his widow Maria seems poised to marry him now. The juxtaposition of death and desire unsettles him further.

In a furious confrontation, Platon accuses Maria of being a hollow doll that replaced a real woman. He hurls a burning log at her, and her facial skin melts away to reveal an artificial nothing beneath the mask. The moment exposes the fragility and artifice of his desires.

A servant who drives the gray car shoots Platon, leaving him presumed dead. Maria's face briefly returns to normal after the attack, suggesting the disguise is breaking but not completely resolved.

A funeral is arranged for Platon, but he suddenly opens his eyes and escapes the mansion. As he crosses a bridge, the gray car approaches, and his fate remains ambiguous, leaving the audience suspended between life and art.