Itim (Filipino for "black"), released overseas as The Rites of May, is a 1976 Filipino thriller film and the directorial debut of Mike de Leon, with a screenplay by Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. and Gil Quito. The film stars Tommy Abuel as a young photographer visiting his father, played by Mario Montenegro, in his provincial town during the Lenten season. There he encounters a mysterious woman, Teresa, played by Charo Santos in her acting debut.
The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Filipino Film Critics) included the film on their list of the Ten Best Films of the Decade. In 2022, the film was digitally restored, with a subsequent theatrical premiere as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
The film opens on a séance where an espiritista exclaims that Rosa (Susan Valdez), a missing Catholic nun, is dead. Her younger sister, Teresa (Charo Santos), is uneasy. Their mother asks the espiritista if she can speak to Rosa. The espiritista tells her to wait for Good Friday.
Meanwhile, Jun (Tommy Abuel), a young photographer from Manila, is visiting his mute and wheelchair-bound-father, Dr. Torres (Mario Montenegro), in their provincial hometown during Holy Week. Throughout his visit, Jun photographs various Lenten rituals for the Manila-based magazine he works for.
He comes across Teresa and takes her photograph while she is dazed. Following this are several chance encounters where she exhibits strange behaviors she does not seem to have control over. Soon, however, they discover that it was not chance but the supernatural that brought them together. In the clinic of his father, Jun finds a film negative; he develops it and sees it is a photo of his father and a young woman, who he soon learns is Rosa.
It is revealed in another séance that the spirit of Rosa possesses Teresa. Rosa's spirit lets out that she was having an affair with Dr. Torres, who forced her to have an abortion, resulting in her death. Soon after the incident, Dr. Torres figured in a car accident that left him mute and paralyzed. After revealing what happened, Rosa exacts her revenge, causing Dr. Torres to fall down the stairs and die.
Cast
Production
Development
Originally a cinematographer, Mike de Leon was known for his award-winning work on the 1975 film Manila in the Claws of Light, which was directed by Lino Brocka. Although de Leon did not initially set out to become a director, following Manila, he made the short film Monologo (Monologue). This would serve as a turning point, the experience piquing his interest in directing. Brocka, who de Leon worked with in Manila, was the first person to view the rough cut of Monologo. He subsequently encouraged de Leon to pursue directing. De Leon has described Itim as an offshoot of Monologo, which was a ghost story and homage to Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 thriller Blow-up. De Leon said he was also inspired by the ghost stories of Lafcadio Hearn.
The script was written by Clodualdo del Mundo Jr., who wrote the script of Manila, and del Mundo's brother-in-law, Gil Quito. Quito conceived of setting the film during Holy Week and incorporating spiritualism. He recalled that the script was written with relative ease, except for the ending. Spiritist Becky Gutierrez was on set as a consultant for the psychic-related elements of the film. She wrote down the incantations from her actual séances for the production team, which were then used to inform the final scene. De Leon also credits production designer Mel Chionglo for assistance in re-writing the séance scene. According to de Leon, screenwriter Ricky Lee initially worked on the script but requested not to be credited. The director believed Lee, known then as a former student activist, made the request due to the lack of overt social relevance in Itim.
Casting
Initially, de Leon was interested in casting big-name actors, as was the convention at the time. The original idea was an erotic thriller with Alma Moreno and Bembol Roco, the latter of whom starred in Brocka's Manila. According to de Leon, after Manila, Roco committed to appear in de Leon's directorial debut but had a schedule conflict with another film he had already signed on to act in. Regarding Moreno, the director was put off when her manager demanded there be full payment upon signing the contract. Following these setbacks, de Leon asked for Brocka's assistance in casting Hilda Koronel, but her fee was beyond their budget. As a result, the production was risked on newcomers, including Charo Santos and Susan Valdez.