Corpses are scattered across the ground when Ferdinand, badly wounded and wearing a metal breastplate, first appears onscreen. It’s 1511 in the aftermath of the successful Portuguese campaign to seize the Malaysian port city of Malacca. Although Diaz inserts times and place names throughout the movie, which function as helpful narrative coordinates, his storytelling is more elliptical than encyclopedic. He skims over historic events and omits crucial travelers, and characters at times enter and exit without much introduction. They also don’t deliver the simple, convenient lessons and summations that are familiar from more conventional movies; it’s gratifying not being pandered to.