The thing about art films is either you love them, or hate them. For newbies, especially, Matthew Barney’s perplexing, laborious and rather graphic Drawing Restraint 9, could be tough to stomach. Fans of Björk, who stars in the film alongside her real-life partner Barney as one of two lovers who ultimately transforms from a human into a whale, will want to watch this at all costs, but those with no interest should steer clear immediately.

We had a hard time figuring out the plot (bearing in mind that this is more “art” than film), but suffice to say, it is a morality lesson of sorts about the environment. Here are some excerpts from the film: A Japanese woman delicately wraps a series of relics into beautiful packages. Björk waits for a boat. Mattew Barney waits for a boat. They board a ship. Björk takes a bath with some oranges. Barney gets a bad shave. They end up in very elaborate dresses. They have green tea. They end up falling in love and licking each other. They cut up each other’s legs. They turn into whales. The end.

If that sounds interesting to you, by all means, go watch Drawing Restraint 9. But apart from Björk’s presence, riveting visuals (especially the unbelievably graphic mutilating scene—you’ve got to have a strong stomach for this one), beautiful costumes and memorable music, the film is mostly indulgent. There are only that many scenes of traditional Japanese rituals and how jello is made (you heard us right) throughout this 135-minute ordeal that one can take. And by the time the film finished, we were mostly puzzled and exhausted. You have been warned.