HA-CHAN! SHAKE YOUR BOOTY
The Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) runs September 10-20 and HtN has boots on the ground covering all the best indie films they have to offer. Check out Chris Reed’s Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! movie review. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
In his 2021 Catch the Fair One, writer/director Josef Kubota Wladyka revealed himself extremely capable in the arena of gritty drama. Now, in Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, he proves effective at absurd humor, as well, with a hefty slice of emotional turmoil on top. It’s a moving narrative about overcoming unimaginable grief, filled with whimsical flights of fantasy and delightful fun.
Rinko Kikuchi (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter) stars as Haru, known to friends and family as Ha-Chan. She’s a ballroom-dancing enthusiast, living in Japan with her Mexican husband, Luis (Alejandro Edda, The Long Way), with whom she participates in competitions like the Tokyo Dance Classic, which opens the movie. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned, and she is suddenly a widow.
What follows is her journey of recovery, supported by two loving sisters, Yuki (Yoh Yoshida, A Pale View of Hills) and Hiromi (You, 1st Kiss), and inspired by one hot dance instructor, Fedir (Alberto Guerra, Don’t Open the Door); Latin men are clearly her type. Though Wladyka could choose to approach the subject in the typical respectful manner accorded to those in mourning, he instead adopts the opposite tactic. Each “chapter” of the story is introduced with a flashy title card in both English and Japanese, with two different narrators reading the text in over-the-top comic tones. This strategy lets us know it’s OK to laugh, and then some.
Which doesn’t mean that there is no genuine sentiment or growth (though first there has to be some pretty wild behavior). On the contrary, Haru feels deeply, and we weep alongside her. But the predominant tone is irreverent, and I am here for it, especially the musical interludes and the Japanese staging of Dirty Dancing. Nobody puts Baby—that is, Ha-Chan—in a corner.
It’s nice to see a filmmaker refuse to let sorrow get in the way of joy. After all, the reason we feel sad when bad stuff happens is because life is supposed to be lived exuberantly (and ideally, in the company of someone we love). Suffering should not be all there is.
Nevertheless, there are times when perhaps Ha-Chan could pull back from her antics, given that they involve lying to others around her. We ultimately forgive those transgressions—she is going through a lot—even if not everyone else does. It helps that she so often cracks us up.
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! features a bright visual palette that perfectly complements the manic intensity of the protagonist’s odyssey. The pacing proves mostly effective, leaning into the discomfort of some of the longer sequences. So strap on your favorite shoes and get ready to rhumba. It’s time to dance.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
