The film Interchange is rare in that it feels both intimately familiar and yet utterly strange and altogether fascinating, (and interestingly, a Malay film unconcerned with politics).

To talk too much about the film is to spoil the plot, so we will start by saying that its placement within the Vanguard section of the festival is quite apt, (though it starts and continues in a fairly straightforward fashion almost like a detective story, the ending part is truly and utterly bizarre).

Let’s just say that the ending feels a little similar to a slightly higher profile film that played the festival a couple of years ago, but that Interchange is paced fat more briskly, feels a little more authentic, (and very much of its country, as there are elements that feel like they are entirely of a non-Western account as well as small details, such as the languages co-mingling).

Interchange has been announced as opening the Singapore Film Festival, and its blending of east and west supercharges the film to fly on its own rewards.

[star v=35]