# Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! finds joy after loss

> A widow rediscovers desire and dance after her husband's death in Josef Kubota Wladyka's bittersweet comedy.
- Title: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! finds joy after loss · TIME
- Summary: A widow rediscovers desire and dance after her husband's death in Josef Kubota Wladyka's bittersweet comedy. Rinko Kikuchi stars as a grieving widow who…
- Keywords: rinko kikuchi, ha-chan shake your booty, josef kubota wladyka, grief, dance, tokyo, film review, Ha-Chan, Shake, Booty, finds, joy
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/09/25/ha-chan-shake-your-booty-review
- Author: Stephanie Zacharek
- Published: 2026-09-25T19:41:28.591+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: rinko kikuchi, ha-chan shake your booty, josef kubota wladyka, grief, dance, tokyo, film review
## A dancer loses her partner
Haru and her husband Luis danced competitively in Tokyo until his death. Nine months later, grief has left her unable to dance or see friends.
## A new instructor sparks desire
When Haru returns to dance class, instructor Fedir catches her eye. He's handsome and talented, and offers a glimpse of fresh possibilities.
## A dream ballet becomes real
After drunken men jostle Haru on the street, Fedir defends her in a choreographed bachata sequence that becomes a metaphor for rejoining life.
## Haru and Fedir become lovers
Their two tender hookups end when Fedir's wife arrives. Haru realizes she has uncontrollable feelings for a man she cannot have.
## Kikuchi captures the messy middle
The actress shifts between deadened sorrow and artificial exhilaration, then anger and jealousy. She shows a woman totally lost, trying to remember who she was.
## Moving forward means becoming new
Haru realizes there's no going back to her old life. She must become a new person, encompassing her old memories, and finds her way back to music and dance.

> she realizes there's no going back
## Key takeaway

Rinko Kikuchi stars as a grieving widow who finds her way back to life through dance and unexpected romance in a film about moving forward after loss.