Dark Waters 🇺🇸 (Temné vody)

Dark Waters is a typical example of a gothic romance that was at the height of its popularity in its time. The film, co-written by the then-famous John Huston and Joan Harrison, employs an audience-appealing genre to tell a story about trauma and its overcoming. The protagonist, Leslie (Merle Oberon), survives a German U-boat attack on a fully boarded ship. However, she loses both her parents in the tragedy, which she takes very hard. Having nowhere to go, she seeks asylum with an uncle and aunt she hasn’t seen in years. But are they really her relatives or are they imposters? The film relies on a well-rendered atmosphere of the American South – the setting of Louisiana swamps and marshes plays a significant role, which may remind one of later noirs set in similar locations such as Moonrise (1948), A Lady Without Passport (1950) and Gun Crazy (1950).

Milan Hain

The film is screened in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Prague.