This paper presents the key ideas from the article ‘The ruins of history’ by the Spanish film director Víctor Erice. These ideas present insights on the work of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky − ideas that are presented in English for the very first time. Erice’s key points are evaluated by comparison with the primary and secondary literature on Tarkovsky. Erice’s major conclusion is based on the thought of Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. This conclusion compares art and history and describes the relationship, and contradiction, between the two. Erice says that Tarkovsky’s films correspond to this relationship. This conclusion is evaluated by comparing Agamben’s thought and the thought of two Russian philosophers who deeply influenced Tarkovsky: Simeon Frank and Pavel Florensky. It is argued that there is strong evidence to support Erice’s conclusion.
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