She's ugly, she's brilliant, she's DONE — Soviet makeover chaos with bite.
The professor's widow Vivi Cassel has three daughters: pretty Irma and Paula and unattractive, but smart, sharp-tongued Elsa, who is humiliated by the condescending attitude of her sisters and mother. She decides to prove that being a woman is much easier than being a person. After visiting a beauty salon, she makes not only her sisters' suitors fall in love with her, but also the mother's fiancé.
Writing
Elsa's acid dialogue cuts deeper than any makeover.
Acting
Dogileva's transformation from invisible to devastating.
Director
Pavel Khomsky
Tatyana Dogileva
Эльза (Санту), дочь Виви Кассель, студентка
Vasiliy Bochkaryov
Эрки Карело, агроном, жених Паулы
Evgeniy Steblov
Уску Аалманен, студент-химик
Aleksandr Lenkov
Перти Уоррес, скульптор
Ludmila Shaposhnikova
Виви Кассель, профессорская вдова, мать трёх дочерей
Inna Alenikova
Ирма, балерина, дочь Виви Кассель
Irina Sokolova
Мини, служанка
Anatoliy Barantsev
профессор Тави Карвелло, жених Виви Кассель
Andrei Tsimbal
фоторепортёр
Mikhail Lvov
Рассененни, репортёр
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
A rarity: Soviet cinema letting a 'ugly' woman be protagonist AND morally complicated without redemption arc. The 1981 release date matters — glasnost hadn't hit yet, making this subversive.
The beauty salon scene parodies Western makeover tropes that wouldn't dominate Soviet screens for years. Elsa's refusal to stay transformed is the real rebellion — she weaponizes beauty then discards it.
SU
