Dance Queen is an Indonesian time-travel drama exploring the intricate relationship between Hira and her future daughter, Hanna. Set in 1995 Jakarta, Hira, a young, directionless high schooler, finds herself entangled with Akbar, an older delinquent with whom she frequently skips school. However, her friend Dito harbors feelings for her and perceives Akbar as a negative influence on Hira. He believes that it is Akbar who is making her skip school.
One evening, returning home late from a date with Akbar, tensions escalate when Akbar attempts to kiss Hira, only to be intercepted by Dito. Enraged, Akbar lashes out and assaults Dito, prompting Hira to intervene and urge Akbar to leave. In the aftermath of the altercation, Dito, seething with resentment towards Hira for her careless demeanor, discloses that Hira’s mother had tasked him with locating her.
Hira returns home to find her house in disarray. It turns out that her parents had gotten into a fight, and her father had assaulted her mother. She finds her mother, but her father is nowhere to be seen. Hira’s mother reveals that her father has decided to move away and that they no longer need someone like him in their lives. As a naive young teenager, Hira is angry and doesn’t want her parents to separate. Instead of comforting her mother, Hira angrily tells her that this situation would’ve never come up if she never married Hira’s father in the first place and she would’ve never been born either. Later, in her room, Hira sees a shooting star and makes a wish that she won’t have to be in an incomplete family like hers in the future.
Spoilers Ahead
How Does Hira Meet Hanna?
Hanna is Hira’s daughter, a teenager in the year 2022. Hanna has a hard time making friends and is quite lonely, as her mother isn’t around. Although her mother has been dead for a long time, Hanna struggles to come to terms with it and tells herself that her mother is actually away working for an NGO. Hanna’s father, even though a loving one, is unable to attend to his daughter’s needs because of his demanding work schedule. Especially when Hanna wishes to buy a dress with her father for her school prom, her father suggests that Hanna go with her friends instead, oblivious to the fact that Hanna has no close friends at school. This further upsets Hanna and makes her feel isolated, making her wish her mother was around to help her out with these types of situations. Without her mother’s guidance and support, Hanna finds herself struggling to navigate the challenges of teenage life, longing for the nurturing presence she so deeply misses.
The next day, Hanna is startled to find a girl her age next to her in bed. Hanna immediately recognizes her as Hira, her mother. It seems that Hira’s wish for the shooting star had been fulfilled in its own twisted way, and now Hira is in the future, the same age as her daughter. Moreover, Hanna and Hira conclude that she has been sent from the past with a purpose, and they must figure that out.
For What Purpose Has Hira Been Sent To The Future?
Worried that her father might panic if he found Hira at their house, Hanna takes Hira to her school instead. Dressed in the uniform, Hira blends in with the other students. Hanna hides her mother in the library to avoid getting caught by their strict teacher, Mr. Anu; however, when she does, Hanna hides in the music room. This is when Hira meets Bram. Bram is Hanna’s classmate and a member of the event planning committee. By the way Hanna acts around Bram, Hira figures out that Hanna has a huge crush on him. She also notices that Hanna indeed has no friends at school, which is why she sets her up to be a part of the planning committee. Because of Hira’s efforts, Hanna begins to integrate with the other students at her school as well. But Hira’s purpose isn’t only to help Hanna but also to figure out things for herself. Hira is herself a teenager who had a difficult relationship with her own mother. After being sent to the future, Hira is thrust into motherhood and realizes what it’s like to be a mother and how tough a responsibility it is. Moreover, when she finds out that her future husband is Dito, she comes to understand him better. Hira sees Dito take care of her daughter despite being such a busy person.
Does Dito Find Out About Hira?
During lunch with her father at a cafe, Hanna introduces Hira to her father as a friend, Rara. Dito is surprised to see the resemblance Rara has to Hira but brushes it off as a mere coincidence. Moreover, Hira finds it weird that Dito is seeing someone else, only to realize that she died during childbirth. Learning about her own early death makes her feel dissociated about the situation she was in. She wonders why she was even sent to the future in the first place. Meanwhile, Hanna realizes that her classmate Bram has developed feelings for Hira after finding pictures of her on his camera. When Hira is caught by their teacher, Mr. Anu, Bram takes the blame, which makes Hanna jealous. Hanna’s jealousy leads to a heated argument between her and Hira, as Hanna feels that even with her mother’s return, her life is still as miserable as before.
Hira, on the other hand, is frustrated by Hanna’s passive attitude towards life, even after her mother’s death, which brought Hanna into this world. In her anger, Hanna tells Hira that now that she knows what her future looks like, she shouldn’t marry Dito, so that Hanna would never have been born. Hira recognizes this as something she once said to her own mother. Overhearing the quarrel from outside the room, Dito learns that the person he thought was Rara is actually Hira herself. Dito tells Hira that this unexpected encounter with her daughter is a precious opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted on petty arguments.
How Does Hira Return To The Past?
Hanna realizes that her previous anger towards Bram was based on a misunderstanding. After finding pictures of herself on Bram’s laptop, she discovers that Bram was simply a photographer who took candid photos of his friends. Resonating with Hira’s words about not taking life for granted, Hanna apologizes to Bram for misunderstanding his intentions and confesses her feelings to him, which he gratefully accepts.
Hanna returns home to find Hira and Dito watching videos from when Hira revealed her pregnancy to Dito, up until the point where Dito was left alone after Hira’s death. In an emotional moment, Hira and Hanna put aside their differences and embrace each other. Hanna realizes that this rare opportunity to meet her mother is a gift, and everything she had ever wanted has been granted to her. Hira also acknowledges her own faults and how she treated her own mother. Later, Dito makes dinner for Hira, who asks him if he would change anything about his life. Dito replies that he wouldn’t change a thing and would still make the same decisions if he were given another chance. The next day, Hanna wakes up to find that Hira has disappeared, implying that she has gone back to the year 1995. As soon as she wakes up, Hira meets her mother and apologizes for her previous behavior.
Dance Queen ends on an emotional note, as both Hanna and Hira come to terms with their lives. Hanna has stopped taking her life for granted and takes responsibility for what she has. Hira realizes that life never turns out as expected, but she must live happily regardless of the ending.
