Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! (Josef Kubota Wladyka, 2026) 3 out of 5 stars
You might not expect a film entitled Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! to be about grief, yet Josef Kubota Wladyka’s movie manages to be just as silly as its name suggests while also attempting a somber portrait of one woman’s healing process after her husband’s death. The story follows Haru, or Ha-Chan (Rinko Kikuchi, Pacific Rim: Uprising), a Tokyo woman who eagerly competes in local ballroom-dance competitions alongside her husband. When he dies suddenly, Ha-Chan loses her lust for life and the dance floor. That is, until she meets a new instructor who rekindles her passion for both. Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! is sweet and vibrant, though it never quite finds the balance needed to fully pull its ideas together.
Part of this may come down to my personal taste, or rather distaste, for quirkiness in films. While its whimsy works as a way to externalize Ha-Chan’s inner thoughts and nod to the aesthetics of Japanese television, the style is inconsistent, serving the narrative better in some moments than others. The impromptu, musical-style dance sequences are surprisingly fun and feel true to Ha-Chan’s character, even if they occasionally come across as unnecessary.
That whimsy is also tied to the film’s use of magical realism, though the realism itself often feels ungrounded. A stronger sense of the world might have helped the emotional moments land more effectively. Still, this approach allows for striking visual moments, vivid colors, and a number of playful costumes.
Despite the initially off-putting kookiness of Ha-Chan’s makeup and hair styling, she ultimately becomes a compelling and enjoyable protagonist, thanks in large part to Kikuchi’s likable, unpredictable performance. The supporting characters are similarly charming. Her eccentric family brings warmth and heart, even if their development remains somewhat shallow. The budding romance with her dance instructor is delightfully chaotic, and her relationship with her husband is tender and moving, making his loss feel deeply tragic, even if the film occasionally loses sight of his continued presence in her life after death.
While Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! doesn’t offer anything particularly new to say about grief, it remains a surprisingly fun and visually engaging exploration of the subject. Though its aesthetic and narrative ambitions might have been better suited to a short film, the movie gradually grows on you over the course of its runtime.
Hannah Tran
Hannah Tran is a filmmaker, writer, and friendly neighborhood barista from Las Vegas. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Film and English and is currently working on her first feature film. In her spare time, she can be found attending film festivals, running a local book club, and, of course, devouring as many movies as possible.