HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY! (Sundance FF 2026) – Review by Sherin Nicole

Just as director Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! is inspired by a woman in his life, as a tribute to his mother, it also has an unexpected similarity to someone in mine. One of my good friends is also an Asian woman who fell in love with ballroom dancing, just as she fell in love with her South American dancing partner. I couldn’t help but be pulled in from the start, but after the heartbreak of the opening, the similarities must end there. Amen.

Here, the kawaii (super cute) and quirky story revolves around Haru (Rinko Kikuchi), whose husband, Luis (Alejandro Edda), quite literally expires while they’re dancing in a Tokyo ballroom competition. So yeah, the duality of sweet and bitter is present from the start. Another point of duality is the contrast between Luis’ life in Japan with Haru, and his upbringing in Mexico with his father and sister. Who gets to decide which life represented him best, his wife or his family by blood?

In the aftermath, as the grief set in, that’s when the gigantic black bird appears, and the absurdity begins. Broken into chapters (no puns intended), what follows is Haru AKA Ha-chan’s rediscovery of life. You haven’t really gotten the most out of life until you’ve heard the chapter title “Oh fuck, Fedir” translated into kawaii Japanese.

At first, when the giant chibi-styled crow returns, we think it might represent protection or guidance during Haru’s time of mourning. But there are other possibilities. Luckily, she has close female loved ones who help her find her way. And that direction is back to the dancefloor, where her fetish for Latin dancers and gift for vivid daydreams entertain us. I couldn’t help but think of my favorite all-time Baz Luhrmann movie Strictly Ballroom, another movie about the transformative power of competitive couples dancing. The two share similarities in tone and style, with the latter recalling the aesthetics of the former’s era. Wladyka also cleverly makes musical choices that wink at and eventually take us back to the summer of Dirty Dancing.

Haru joins a dance class where the magnetic Fedir (Alberto Guerra) becomes her teacher, and she likes the look of him (wink wink). At the same time, her friend Hiro (You) encourages Haru to start dating again, but Ha-Chan only has room for one obsession. I’ll let you guess “what” that is. Still, the heat turns up as she attempts to avoid her memories and longing for Luis.

Throughout this comedically surreal runtime, we’re treated to wild hallucinations, big dance numbers, sensual daydreams, and a desperate recklessness that Haru can’t help but be drawn into. Ha-Chan’s story is about the lies we tell ourselves when we can’t face the guilt or the devastation of surviving, and the fantastical—although artificial—pocket universes we create when we wish things had gone a different way.

You can, in fact, dance your cares away, but that’s only temporary. Eventually, you’ll have to take your shoes off and deal without acting out. Hey, Haru, hi. That’s why, despite its sometimes unfiltered extravagance, Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! is a guiltily cathartic case of a woman stumbling through grief while tripping the light fantastic.