1916 Swedish film
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.
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