An epigram opens the film: “Up to your 30s, you have the face God has given you. After that you get the face you deserve.” A prelude then follows a kids entertainer turning 30 and having a hard time of it. In the second part, seven men in the woods live according to a set of childish ritual games.

Portuguese director Miguel Gomes emerged as a star on the 2000s festival circuit with offbeat, playful, inventively genre-bending visions like Tabu and Our Beloved Month of August. Here’s where he begins: a sweet, warped, colorful feature debut that took its director to Rotterdam.