Any film enthusiast knows the struggle of finding a new release that holds a torch to his or her favorites from the hallowed halls of cinema greatness. Time after time, we see a new film and say, “Oh, it’s kind of like the modern version of (INSERT FILM HERE), but not as good.” What, then, does it take to make a truly wonderful movie?

Look no further than Sion Sono’s Why Don’t You Play in Hell? for the answer! Let this contemporary, hyper-productive bad boy of Japanese cinema show you the light. I was lucky enough to see this as part of last year’s Boston Underground Film Festival and I highly recommend catching it this weekend. It’s a hard film to download and stream (I’ve tried, believe me, oh how I have tried), so this limited engagement at the Brattle is a must see.

Coming from this prolific director who puts out two to three films EVERY year (Have you seen Love Exposure yet? Stop, stop what you are doing right now and get that torrent ASAP!), Why Don’t You Play in Hell? is a one-of-a-kind experience. It nails the perfect story elements, strings together several subplots, and holds true to its genre roots. But what’s the story?

A failed amateur film crew called the Fuckbombers are hired to film the showoff between two Yakuza clans. That’s it. Does it have a young girl in a white dress gliding through a pool of blood? YES. Does it have a femme fatale that so cruel it’s sexy? YES. Does it have a hapless, idiot lover? YES. Does it have a series of jokes, each funnier than the last? YES. Does it have a Bruce Lee character who is barely competent? YES. Okay, okay, but it’s a Yakuza movie so does it have bloody fight scenes? Um, YES! Why Don’t You Play in Hell? does this and more while making meta commentary on the art of film-making itself and lulling you into laughter with the constant reoccurrence of a jingle that will melt your brain.