Francisco, a grumbling school teacher experiences an existential crisis on his thirtieth birthday. He contracts a severe case of measles like a child, and ends up confined to a countryside house under the care of seven men. Who are these seven men? His childhood friends? Or the seven dwarves from a fairy tale? Are they real people, or just figments of his imagination? This dreamlike film, The Face You Deserve, blends comedy, musical, theater, fairy tale, and adventure, suggests returning to childhood is impossible. At times, the seven authoritative boyish men reveal to Francisco that childhood is not a lost paradise, but an anxious world from which he must move beyond. In his debut feature The Face You Deserve, which established him as one of Portugal’s most promising director, Miguel Gomes explores the theme of Saudade (a Portuguese word for nostalgia, gentle melancholy, and a sense of longing) that would later become one of his favorite themes. (SEO Seunghee)