The Bloody Child

(35mm/86 min/1996)




This film was inspired by a real event—a young US Marine, recently back from the Gulf War, was found digging a grave for his murdered wife in the middle of the California Mojave. Menkes turns the man’s arrest—a moment in time—into a harrowing hallucinatory journey, a mesmerizing look at the desolation of violence. Shot in North Africa and 29 Palms, California, THE BLOODY CHILD combines actual Desert Storm marines, playing themselves, text from Shakespeare’s MACBETH, and wife-murder…creating a wild witch’s brew.

Produced by ITVS through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with additional funds from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.