Have you ever found yourself captivated by a movie’s title? It’s rare, but I’m so enchanted by Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! This title has an irresistible charm that grabs your attention right away and makes you want to jump up and dance—which is exactly what this inventive film by Josef Kubota Wladyka is all about. It’s a wonderfully quirky romantic dramedy that blends musical and magical realism elements together; the narrative draws inspiration from Wladyka’s own mother, Haru Wladyka, who spent her life as a devoted amateur ballroom dancer. 

When we’re first introduced to our main character Haru, affectionately called Ha-Chan (Rinko Kikuchi), we see her and her Mexican husband, Luis, as a blissfully married couple and dedicated competitive dance partners. Haru stands out with her signature look—voluminous, tightly curled permed hair and a vibrant, spirited personality. They enjoy a fulfilling life and a beautiful home in Tokyo, but everything changes dramatically for Haru when Luis unexpectedly dies from a heart attack while performing at a dance competition.

As you’d naturally expect, Haru experiences profound grief that really makes you contemplate what you’d go through in her position. Grief is such an individual experience, and everyone processes loss in their own unique way. Haru, who’s typically sociable, retreats into solitude after her husband passes away. The film does a wonderful job of showing how chaotic, unpredictable, and genuinely peculiar loss can feel, while delivering a reassuring message that ‘it’s perfectly okay to be messy.’ 

Wladyka, an American filmmaker with Japanese and Polish heritage, partnered with Nicholas Huynh to write the screenplay. The story explores the importance of closure, especially when losing a loved one. Haru wanted Luis to be cremated, believing that’s what her husband would have wanted, but she loses this battle when his family decides to take Luis’ body back to Mexico for burial. Without this important mourning ritual, Haru finds herself completely adrift and ‘haunted’ by Luis, experiencing visions of him wandering around their home dressed in an oversized, mascot-like black bird costume. There are times when I wondered aloud, ‘What the heck is going on here?’ but its weirdness is part of the movie’s charm.

I love how Wladyka celebrates the richness of cross-cultural partnerships and seamlessly weaves together Japanese and Latin American cultures. It’s rare to encounter a trilingual film like this one where the characters communicate in Japanese, Spanish, and English throughout. The script challenges stereotypes about certain cultures, particularly in how Westerners view Japanese women as reserved and quiet. Her friend Hiromi (You) is equally unconventional, bringing plenty of eccentric humor and sexual candor to the mix, while Haru’s sister Hiromi (Yoh Yoshida) embodies empathy and understanding. Together, they help pull Haru out of her sadness and convince her to join a dance class, where she quickly develops feelings for Fedir, her charming Latin dance instructor.

I read that the director chose Alejandro Edda for Luis and Alberto Guerra for Fedir because he’d developed a good working relationship with both actors while helming episodes of the intense crime series Narcos: Mexico. It’s pretty impressive that Guerra, who’s from Cuba, has no formal dance training background; From the way he moves and carries himself, I’d have pegged him as a professional dancer. Both Guerra and Kikuchi took extended dance training for their roles, and it really pays off. The dance scenes are well-choreographed and fun to watch, and the two actors share wonderful on-screen chemistry. 

Kikuchi is an incredibly talented actress, so it’s fantastic to see her carrying a film and commanding the screen with her sass, vulnerability, and resilience. Apparently, she carefully studied videos of Wladyka’s mother to perfect her physical movements. But what’s crucial here is that she can handle both the emotional weight of Haru’s sorrow and the film’s quirky, playful moments. Sometimes the movie leans too much into its oddball nature, and the tone feels a bit inconsistent. At one point, a seemingly random encounter with strangers gets physical, and then it turns into a big musical number. The scenes featuring Fedir’s wife in his apartment get downright silly in the third act.

Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! absolutely delivers on what its title promises. The cinematography, soundtrack, and dance sequences are bursting with lively, energetic vitality. When Haru dances, she sometimes finds herself floating weightlessly through the air, completely lost in a state of euphoria. Sometimes we all need such a powerful escape to help us pull through intense sorrow or a difficult period.

This movie beautifully demonstrates dance’s transformative, healing power, using movement to break through intense sadness and move forward. It’s a poignant, funny, and beautiful tribute to his 82-year-old mother, who to this day is still passionate about dancing. The film genuinely inspires you to stand up and move, and it makes you believe that dance is a great way to cope with life’s hardest moments. This is my first intro into Wladyka, I’m curious to see what he’ll do next.

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