Zeus

A Wind From The South (1955)

• Director
  • Daniel Petrie
• Writer
  • James Costigan
• Stars
  • Julie Harris
  • Donald Woods
  • Haila Stoddard

  Shivawn and Liam are a sister and brother who turned their inherited home into a bed and breakfast in the rural Irish countryside. He is a hard-nosed pragmatist, frustrated with his lot in life, having to cater to the endless parade of shallow American tourists who come to the old country looking for a bit of the old magic. She is a dreamer, a mystic you could even say, a touch on the superstitious side, given over to intuitive impulses and emotionally swayed by the discovery of odd natural phenomena, who sees portents in warm breezes coming at her from unusual directions. Unlike her brother, who struggles to conceal his disgust with the clientele, Shivawn is not at all above exaggerating her brogue and tossing in bits of theatrical Irish slang for the amusement of her customers, who she admires simply on account of them having seen more of the world than she likely ever will. Despite her winsome, cheerful expressions, Shivawn pines away on the inside, conscious that life is passing her by, with no prospects for a lasting love as she's now on the wrong side of 30 and feeling very low about her ability to make a meaningful change. They are both dreadfully stuck in the routines of managing their small inn, unable to take much time off - though it's never directly alluded to, Liam and Shivawn are locked in by poverty and utter dependence on the inn for meeting the needs of their hand-to-mouth existence.