Artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway said the following of ‘L’année dernière à Marienbad’
There are very, very few films that I can think of that have actually created true cinema. Last Year In Marienbad, perhaps, is about the closest I can feel. It approaches a notion of real, true cinematic intelligence. It is not a slave to text. It is not a slave to narrative. It deconstructs all these phenomena and creates a product which is truly and absolutely cinematic because it cannot exist in any other form. Whereas the majority of cinema can always be explained in other mediums, which is a true indication, I feel, that it hasn’t yet reached that essential autonomy. It points the way cinema might have gone – I think it’s too late now, the most interesting figures have all turned to other things, other routes
Indeed Greenaway has also turned to ‘other routes’ with his art project ‘Nine Classical Paintings Revisited’. Last summer he exposed the piece “The Wedding at Cana: A Vision by Peter Greenaway” at the Venice Biennale. The New York Times review can be found here:
The Wedding at Cana - A Vision by Peter Greenaway
Even though it was released in 1961 ”L’année dernière à Marienbad’ continues to influence contemporary culture. Fashion designer Marc Jacobs based his fall 2007 collection on the film (the stunning costumes in the film were designed by Chanel) and Blur created a pastiche of ‘Last Year at Marienbad’ with their song ‘To The End’