Ballroom dancing is rarely explored in film nowadays, in spite of the possibilities it can showcase for filmmaking. There’s layers where it can express a character’s thoughts and display great crafts, like cinematography and editing. Some prime examples include Dirty Dancing and Silver Linings Playbook, but director Josef Kubota Wladyka explores various ideas through his third feature film, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! 

Haru (Rinko Kikuchi) and Luis (Alejandro Edda) are a married couple that compete in ballroom dancing in Tokyo. During one competition, however, Luis dies mid-dance and collapses on the dance floor. Nine months later, Haru’s friends and sister coerce her back into the studio as Haru has isolated herself. Haru develops an infatuation with the new dance instructor, Fedir (Alberto Guerra). Fedir is in an open marriage and sparks begin to fly between him and Haru. During this time, Haru is navigating her way through her grief and her new desire. 

Rinko Kikuchi gives a fierce performance, displaying Haru’s grief in a nuanced and honest way. She dominates the screen throughout as she makes decisions that are emotionally relatable. Early on her grief is struck with an insult to injury as Luis’s family wants him to be buried in his home country of Mexico, as opposed to Japan. The frustration and sadness expressed by Kikuchi so convincingly, and that is just the beginning of her journey. Ever since Kikuchi broke out with her Oscar-nominated performance in Babel from 2006, she has always been an intriguing, often under-appreciated, actress to watch on screen. It would be nice to see some awards recognition for her work here. 

The rest of the cast is very strong in their roles, but the standout is YOU as Hiromi, Haru’s unfiltered friend that speaks her mind. She offers some of the best comedic timing throughout the movie, like when her and Haru are looking at Hiromi’s dating profile and she lies about her age being 35 when she is clearly in her early 60’s. While on screen briefly, Alejandro Edda as Luis is also delightful. You see why Haru would be in love with him even with the limited screentime of really seeing their relationship. Alberto Guerra as Fedir is sexy and charming. It is very easy to see why everyone glues their eyes to him when he walks into a room. 

Despite a tone that can easily be bleak, there is a whimsical, quirky, and hilarious absurdity to a lot of sequences in the movie. We see what goes on in the mind of Haru and this is where Wladyka’s direction truly shines. One particular moment shows Haru and Fedir go on a date and see a stage production of Dirty Dancing. During the pinnacle “Time of My Life” sequence, we see it imagined with Haru and Fedir performing the sequence in her mind. It felt as if I was brought into a throwback sequence that was seen in an MGM musical. Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! is also not afraid to get weird with its absurdity. There is a running motif throughout of a mascot-style bird with Luis on the inside of it that comes around throughout the movie in her dreams. While the metaphor of how it represents how she needs to move on, that does not mean it is not effective. At first, it was a bit jarring that it was the direction that it went in but as the movie went along, it felt more fitting. 

The cinematography from Daniel Satinoff is bright, colorful, and he films the dance sequences incredibly well. The movie opens with a fantastic oner that establishes Haru’s home and it does not feel like it is showing off. It’s the type of introduction that told me I was in good hands with the cinematography. My favorite dance sequence involves a fight between Fedir and three older businessmen who won’t apologize to Haru for bumping into her on a walk after their first date. The way the camera movies is quite intriguing. 

Where Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! falters a bit is in the script, from Wladyka and Nicholas Huynh. While the themes are wonderfully explored in the filmmaking, the writing feels a bit dampened with certain story decisions. Haru starts off her relationship with Fedir on a set of lies, which feels like it is creating conflict for the sake of a dramatic buildup, rather than character motivation. Why isn’t she just honest with him about what she is going through? This could’ve been an interesting gateway into why she’s deciding to date a man that is in a polyamorous relationship. Another missed opportunity is Haru’s relationship with her sister. Part of that is having the nine month gap in the story; how often was she going over to attempt to check on her sister? Was she trying to help her before the nine months passed? What other attempts did she make? The supporting cast does well in their roles, but they feel very undercooked by the screenplay. It is the one thing that pulls the movie back from being truly great. 

At the end of the day, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! is a good time at the movies. Despite some of the issues in the script, the dance sequences and Rinko Kikuchi’s performance more than make up for its shortcomings. Director Josef Kubota Wladyka makes a tonal shift from his first two films with ease that expands the possibilities of what other genres he can tackle. 

Sony Pictures Classics will release H-Chan, Shake Your Booty! in theaters on September 25.

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