Sometimes, I come across a film I really enjoy and wonder how it ever got made. What was the pitch for, say, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? How do you explain that concept to potential financial backers? What about Moulin Rouge! or my all-time-favorite improbable movie, The Adventures Of Buckaroo Bonzai Across The 8th Dimension?

This is how I feel about I’m Not There, a fantastic film that must have been an incredible pain to get off the ground. I can’t even begin to accurately describe the plot, such as it is, but I’ll try: Six actors, including Cate Blanchett, portray what are described as “different facets of Bob Dylan’s persona.”

I also won’t attempt to explain how the film unfolds. Actually, it doesn’t unfold as much as meander in a wonderfully abstract way, and your enjoyment of the film probably will be linked to your knowledge of Dylan’s life story. If you know about Woody Guthrie, and the Village, and “Judas!” and the motorcycle crash and bein’ saved and Pat Garrett, you might love the film. Otherwise, you’re probably going to scratch your head and look at your watch.

I watched it again a couple of weeks ago and it’s one of the few films that stands up to repeat viewing for me. When Jim James (the lead singer of My Morning Jacket) sings “Goin’ To Acapulco” or the kid sings “Tombstone Blues” with Richie Havens, I’m moved every single time. And there are whole vignettes — particularly when Blanchett shows up on the screen or Richard Gere plays an older Billy the Kid — that are just miles above anything I’ve seen in a movie in recent years.

Go rent it. If you hate it, you’re only out a few bucks. If you like it, you’re probably going to want to buy it.