Widow Finds New Life Through Dance and Desire in 'Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!'

In Josef Kubota Wladyka’s bittersweet comedy "Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!," Rinko Kikuchi plays Haru, a Tokyo widow whose life is upended by the death of her husband and dance partner, Luis.

Haru and Luis shared a passionate romance and a love for competitive ballroom dancing. After his death, Haru withdraws from friends, family, and her beloved dance studio. Nine months later, a new instructor, Fedir (Alberto Guerra), a handsome and skilled dancer, persuades her to return to the studio. Fedir’s presence, and the possibility of a new romantic entanglement, challenges Haru’s grief-stricken state.

The film explores the complex and often messy process of navigating loss. Wladyka and co-writer Nicholas Huynh weave together themes of unchained desire, fantasy dance sequences set against ordinary Tokyo streets, and the raw emotions that accompany bereavement. The movie suggests there is no simple path to recovering from the loss of a loved one, tackling this truth with warmth and humor.

Haru and Luis’s intimate life was reflected in their home, particularly a wall of LPs and a turntable, symbolizing their shared passion for dance. After Luis’s death, this space becomes a limbo for Haru, where his presence lingers. He even appears to her whimsically as a large black Tweety Bird, offering comfort but also representing a potentially dangerous attachment to the past.

When Haru meets Fedir, whose marriage is an open one, she sees a chance for adventure. After a platonic dinner, an encounter with rowdy businessmen leads to a cleverly choreographed bachata dance sequence. This dream ballet, set in the street, metaphorically represents Haru’s re-engagement with life. The evening culminates in Haru and Fedir sleeping together.

Their subsequent encounters are tender, but Haru’s burgeoning feelings and the eventual arrival of Fedir’s wife trigger jealousy and anger. Kikuchi masterfully shifts from portraying Haru’s deep sorrow to her artificial exhilaration and then to her uncontrolled outburst. Known for her roles in "Babel" and "Pacific Rim," and HBO’s "Tokyo Vice," Kikuchi captures Haru’s struggle to reclaim her identity.

By the film’s end, Haru accepts that she cannot return to her past self. She must forge a new identity that integrates her experiences and memories. Kikuchi portrays this difficult transition with a painful yet humorous authenticity, ultimately showing Haru finding her way back to the music, enabling her to move forward, one dance step at a time.