The Wings (film)

Not to be confused with Wings (1927 film).

The Wings
Nils Asther in the film
Directed by	Mauritz Stiller
Written by	Axel Esbensen Mauritz Stiller
Starring	Nils Asther Egil Eide Lars Hanson Lili Bech Julius Hälsig
Cinematography	Julius Jaenzon
Distributed by	Svenska Biografteatern
Release date	1916 (1916)
Running time	69 minutes
Country	Sweden
Language	Silent (Swedish intertitles)

The Wings (Swedish: Vingarne) is a 1916 Swedish silent film directed by Mauritz Stiller, starring Nils Asther, Egil Eide, Lars Hanson, Lili Bech, and Julius Hälsig [sv]. It was based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel Mikaël, which was the same source Carl Theodor Dreyer used for his 1924 film Michael.

Besides being an early gay-themed film, it is also notable for its innovative use of a framing story and telling the plot primarily through the use of flashbacks.

Plot

The story is that of a conniving countess (played by Lili Bech) coming between a gay sculptor, Claude Zoret (Egil Eide), and his bisexual model and lover, Mikaël (Lars Hanson), ultimately leading to Zoret's death in a raging storm at the base of a statue of Mikaël as the mythological Icarus.

Preservation status

The film is largely lost, with only half an hour surviving of the original 69-minute film. A restoration was made using still photos and title cards to bridge the missing sections in 1987.

External links

• Vingarne at IMDb
• The Wings at the Swedish Film Institute Database