In the opening scenes of Josef Kubota Wladyka’s wistful, charming drama “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!,” we meet a middle-aged couple deeply in love. Haru, called Ha-Chan (Rinko Kikuchi, Oscar-nominated for “Babel” 20 years ago), and her husband Luis (Alejandro Edda) live contentedly together in a cluttered, cozy Tokyo home lined with American dance-movie posters. (Take note of “Dirty Dancing”; it’ll be a factor later.) As a hobby, they compete in amateur ballroom dance competitions, finding joy in each other’s arms. In the midst of a sultry rumba, Wladyka lets us see their feet gently lifting from the dance floor, as they soar high in the air, entwined. It’s a celestial, perfect dream moment — until Luis suddenly falls to the floor, dead of a heart attack, leaving Haru alone.

“Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” is about what life looks like for Haru in the wake of that moment, and what it feels like for a person happily partnered to suddenly have to dance through life by herself. Most of the film takes place nine months after Luis’ death, with Haru still unanchored, swerving between fantasy visions of Luis (who appears to her as a giant crow) and her own real-life tentative attraction to Fedir (Alberto Guerra), a handsome instructor at the dance school where Haru’s sister Yuki (Yoh Yoshida) and cousin Hiromi (You) have urged her return. Fedir, it turns out, welcomes her advances — but things don’t proceed as smoothly as steps on a dance floor. “It’s OK to be messy,” Yuki assures her kindly. “That’s life, you know.”

Though the film feels a bit overlong, watching it is a pleasure; Wladyka, who made “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” as a tribute to his ballroom-dancing mother, effortlessly combines a gentle exploration of heartbreak with a whimsical tribute to those who love dance. The dance numbers may well have you laughing with delight — particularly an outdoor one near a Tokyo train station, in which an unpleasant interaction suddenly becomes a romp set to “Be My Baby.” And Kikuchi, floating through the film on a wave of quiet emotion, creates in its final scene an enchanting portrait of joy. Nobody, it turns out, puts this Baby in the corner.

———

‘HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!’

(In Japanese, Spanish and English, with English subtitles)

3.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for sexual content and language)

Running time: 2:02

How to watch: In theaters Sept. 25

———

©2026 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.