DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Iraq Hosts Both U.S. and Iranian-Backed Forces. It’s Getting Tense.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Iraq has managed to pull off an unlikely balancing act, allowing armed forces tied to both the United States and Iran, an American nemesis, to operate on its soil. When Washington, Tehran and Baghdad all wanted the same thing — the defeat of the Islamic State terrorist group — the relationships were fairly tenable, but in recent months, as the war in the Gaza Strip sends ripples across the region, American and Iranian-backed forces have clashed repeatedly in Iraq and Syria. A U.S. strike on one of those militias last week killed 16 Iraqis, and Iraq is saying it has had enough. “Our land and sovereign authority is not the right place for rival forces to send messages and show their strength.” the office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement on Sunday. For many years, both Iran and the United States had their proponents within the Iraqi government, and the Iranian-backed armed groups and the American troops lived in a tolerable if uneasy balance.

Persons: Mohammed Shia, Sudani Organizations: Islamic State Locations: Iraq, United States, Iran, American, Washington, Tehran, Baghdad, Gaza, Syria, U.S

☆ U.S. Strike in Baghdad Kills Iranian-Backed Militia Commander
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Helene Cooper | Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A U.S. retaliatory strike in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday killed a senior leader of a militia that U.S. officials blame for recent attacks on American personnel, the Pentagon said, following up on President Biden’s promise that the response to a slew of attacks by Shiite militias would continue. The Pentagon said the man was a leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the militia that officials have said was responsible for the drone attack in Jordan last month that killed three American service members and injured more than 40 more. A U.S. official said that the strike was a “dynamic” hit on the militia commander, whom American intelligence officials had been tracking for some time. A second official said the United States reserved the right to strike other Shiite militia leaders and commanders.

Persons: Biden’s, Kata’ib Organizations: Wednesday, Pentagon, Kata’ib Hezbollah, U.S Locations: Jordan, United States

☆ ‘Perfect Days’ Review: Hanging On
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pay attention to the shadows in “Perfect Days.” Pay attention also to the trees, to the ways Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) looks at them. Hirayama cleans Tokyo’s public toilets for a living, rising before dawn to gently water the seedlings he grows in his home and then drive off to begin his shift. He keeps to a simple routine, the kind so carefully constructed you start to wonder if it’s a bulwark against chaos. They are anchors in time, companions throughout his days, riches rounding out his life. When he brings a book to the bar on the weekend, the proprietor tells him admiringly that he’s such an intellectual.

Persons: Koji Yakusho, Hirayama, Van Morrison, Nina Simone —, stashed, ”

☆ Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercial leans on humor after a year of turmoil and controversy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Bud Light is back at the Super Bowl, this time with a funny “genie” to grant drinkers’ wishes. The 60-second spot, called “Easy Night Out,” is part of Bud Light’s year-long rebrand that debuted at last year’s Super Bowl. The brand has been in crisis mode ever since, and the Super Bowl commercial is part of its effort to turn around perception. “We wanted to get back to the humor the brand has been known for,” Bud Light’s vice president Todd Allen told CNN. 2024 BUD LIGHT SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL | EASY NIGHT OUT | EASY TO DRINK EASY TO ENJOY :60Bud Light launched its new campaign — “Easy to Drink.

Persons: Bud Light, ”, ’, Bud Light’s, Bud, “, ” Bud Light’s, Todd Allen, Post Malone, Bud Light Seltzer, Peyton Manning, Dana White, BUD, Miles Teller, Keleigh, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Allen, Heinerscheid, it’s “, isn’t, ” Allen, “ We’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, Super, CNN, “, NFL, UFC, Parent, Anheuser, Busch, Modelo, Miller Lite Locations: New York

☆ Documentary Download: 3 Celebrity Portraits Worth Your Time
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Pop open the “documentaries” section of your friendly local streaming service, and a bevy of movies about celebrities will greet you. Rockers, politicians, artists, authors, athletes — increasingly everyone you’ve heard of has a documentary, and probably served as a producer on it, too. The appeal of such films is obvious: If you like someone already, you get to hear them talk about themselves. If you know you should like someone, then you’ve got a quick introduction to set you on your way to fandom. The best of these movies tend to do more than tell us about the subject — they tell us what the subject means, in a cultural sense.

Persons: —, you’ve, “ Dario Argento Panico, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, won’t, “ Dario Argento, Guillermo del Toro, it’s, Judy Blume, ” Organizations: Netflix

Roughly 40,000 American troops are stationed across the Middle East, mostly in countries with close ties to the United States. There were more than 160,000 American troops in Iraq alone in 2007, during the war that followed the U.S. invasion. Image Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq in 2019. Credit... Nasser Nasser/Associated PressWhy are so many troops there? A military coalition led by the United States, including forces in Syria and Iraq, defeated it. President Biden has retaliated with attacks on Iran-aligned militants, hitting groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Persons: Jan, Al, Nasser Nasser, Biden, Israel —, Al Tanf, ” Gen, Hossein Organizations: U.S, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Hezbollah, Army, Air Force, Washington, Operations, Navy’s, U.S . Central Command, Associated, Islamic, U.S ., Pentagon, ”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Jordan, Iraq, United States, State, U.S, Al Asad Air, Iraq’s, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Azraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Gaza, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, China, American, Islamic State, Mosul, Raqqa, Israel, Yemen

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Militia Blamed for Attack on U.S. Forces Says It Will Halt Military Activity
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

His comment raised fears in Iraq about a possibly retaliatory U.S. attack on its territory. The militia, Kata’ib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, is the largest and most established of the Iran-linked groups operating in Iraq. (Kata’ib Hezbollah is separate from the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.) The other two Iraqi groups that are believed to have been involved in strikes U.S. targets — Harakat al Nujaba and Sayyid Shuhada — have not announced they will halt attacks. Kata’ib Hezbollah and other groups had ignored the Iraqi government’s request to stand down, but once the attack in Jordan on Sunday took American lives, Mr. Sudani demanded a complete halt from Kata’ib Hezbollah.

Persons: Biden, Israel, —, Nujaba, Sayyid Shuhada —, Kata’ib, Abu Hussein al, “, Pat Ryder, ”, Mohammed Shia, Sudani, Hisham al, Sudani’s, Nuri al, Qais, Hadi, Esmail Qaani, Falih Hassan, Farnaz, Eric Schmitt Organizations: Pentagon, Hezbollah, Party of, Iraqi Army, Kurdish Syrian Defense, Islamic, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Defense Department, U.S, Sunday, Revolutionary Guards, Maliki, Quds Force Locations: Iran, Iraq, U.S, Jordan, Syria, Gaza, The U.S, Islamic State, Lebanon, Yemen, Islamic Republic of Iran, United States, Iraqi, Baghdad, New York, Washington ,

☆ What Iran Really Wants
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran has emerged as the chief architect in multiple conflicts strafing the Middle East, from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. It trained and helped arm the Iraqi militias that killed three U.S. service members with a drone in Jordan this weekend. Why is Iran suddenly involved in so many conflicts? Since the 1979 takeover of Iran by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the country’s Islamic revolutionary government has had one overriding ambition: to be the lead player shaping the future of the Middle East. Seen another way, it wants Israel weaker and the United States gone from the region after decades of primacy.

Persons: Ruhollah Khomeini Locations: Iran, Persian, Jordan, Israel, Pakistan, Yemen, Gaza, United States

☆ Drone Strike Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers in Jordan, White House Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Vivek Shankar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The attack happened at a small outpost in northeast Jordan called Tower 22 near the Syria border where the troops were based. Other details were not immediately available from the Pentagon’s Central Command, which issued an initial bare-bones statement on Sunday. In 2016, the American military turned Al Tanf into a small base. The Rukban refugee camp, with some 8,000 residents, is near both Al Tanf and Tower 22. Troops at Al Tanf have come under fire before from Iran-backed militias.

Persons: Biden, —, Mr, Al, Al Tanf, Syria’s, Alissa J, Rubin Organizations: U.S, Pentagon’s, Command, Resistance, Hezbollah, United, Operations, Pentagon, Navy, Sunday, American, Troops, The Defense Department, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base Locations: Jordan, Iran, Gaza, Syria, Israel, Iraq, ”, Iranian, Lebanese, Yemen, Aden, United States, Azraq, Al Tanf, Islamic State, Red, U.S, Baghdad, Damascus, Tehran, Lebanon, Al, Al Asad Air

☆ For the Most Groundbreaking Oscar Race This Year, Try Documentaries
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Most post-nomination Oscar chatter focuses on surprises and snubs connected to the fiction nominees. But I’m a nonfiction nerd, so for me the documentaries are where it’s at, and in recent years, the picks have grown delightfully unpredictable. Both are artful, and their nominations had seemed assured because, at least in the past, well-made portraits tended to get eyeballs and thus votes. Biographical documentaries are still hugely popular; next to true crime, they’re what’s hot in nonfiction right now, as our recently reviewed releases “June” and “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” indicate. Don’t look now, but this may be the most groundbreaking category at the awards.

Persons: Michael J, Jon Batiste, “ Lil Nas, Montero Organizations: Fox

☆ ‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’ Review: Life, in Drab Gray
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Her mental tableaux of death look as if they were staged by the artist Gregory Crewdson. She imagines standing alone in a nondescript finished office basement as a giant snake slithers by. She imagines death, essentially, as peace in the midst of ever-changing nature. By day, Fran (Daisy Ridley) dons drab business casual and works in the sort of space that makes the environs of “The Office” seem like a magical wonderland. By night, Fran’s life isn’t much more interesting, but at least she’s in control of it.

Persons: Fran, Gregory Crewdson, Daisy Ridley Locations: “, Pacific

☆ U.S. Troops Are Injured in Attack on Air Base in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Eric Schmitt | Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Israel and Iran have been locked in a shadow war for years, long before the latest war in Gaza began. They have traded covert attacks by land, sea and air, as well as online. Israel has conducted targeted killings of key Iranian figures and strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. Syria is a close ally of Iran and a conduit for Iranian weapons shipments to its proxies, especially Hezbollah. Iran and Pakistan Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza Clashes along Israel-Lebanon border Qatar Iranian strike targeting militants Saudi Arabia U.A.E.

Persons: Israel, Ebrahim Raisi, Israel —, SANA, Hojatallah Omidvar, Haj Sadegh Omidzade, General Omidvar, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, Ronen Bergman, Victoria Kim Organizations: Guards, Quds Force, Islamic, Hamas, Revolutionary Guards, Human Rights, SYria AFghanistan IRAQ Israel Iran Clashes, West Bank, Qatar, Qatar INdia Saudi Arabia U.A.E, Red Sea, TURKEY U.S, EGYPT Qatar Saudi Arabia U.A.E, SYria IRAQ Iran Israel Clashes, West Bank KUWAIT PAK, Qatar Iranian, Saudi Arabia U.A.E, Quds Forces, Brig, Senior Locations: Iran, Damascus, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza . Israel, Syrian, Britain, East TURKMENISTAN Syria, Iraq TURKEY Iran, SYria AFghanistan IRAQ Israel Iran, West, Gaza PAKISTAN KUWAIT Iran, Pakistan EGYPT, Qatar INdia Saudi Arabia, OMAN Red, YEMEN Sudan, Red, Red Sea U.S, Iraq TURKMENISTAN Iran, TURKEY, Gaza Iran, Pakistan KUWAIT PAKISTAN, EGYPT Qatar Saudi Arabia, Sudan YEMEN U.S, SYria IRAQ Iran Israel, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, OMAN, YEMEN, Iranian, Gen, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq, Israeli, United States

☆ ‘The End We Start From’ Review: A Watery Apocalypse and a New Beginning
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first apocalypse recorded in more than one ancient text is, after all, a deluge. But there is such a thing as too much symbolism, and “The End We Start From,” adapted from Megan Hunter’s acclaimed best-selling novel, is drowning. The action starts in a bathtub that’s slowly filling for a woman (played by Jodie Comer and identified in the credits only as “Woman”). As the water fills the bathtub inside, the world is filling up with water outside. But they’re only permitted to enter because R’s parents live there, and because they have a two-day-old baby in the car.

Persons: ”, Megan Hunter’s, Jodie Comer, Joel Fry, Noah Locations: London, Venice, England

The world first met Cady Heron, Regina George and the Plastics when “Mean Girls” hit movie theaters in 2004. Written by Tina Fey and based on a nonfiction book about social dynamics among high school girls, “Mean Girls” tells the story of a formerly home-schooled 16-year-old who becomes entangled with a group of popular students at her new high school. Its stars became famous, its quotable lines were ubiquitous and young people started wearing pink on Wednesdays. This month, a new version of “Mean Girls” has hit cinemas. Alissa Wilkinson, a film critic, and Alexis Soloski, a culture reporter, discuss their relationships with “Mean Girls,” how the world has changed since the original movie and what the new “Mean Girls” has to say to audiences today.

Persons: Cady Heron, Regina George, Tina Fey, Alissa Wilkinson, Alexis Soloski Organizations: Plastics

☆ Deadly Iranian Strike in Northern Iraq Inflames Tensions in the Region
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A deadly Iranian ballistic missile strike in northern Iraq on Tuesday drove a wedge — at least temporarily — between Baghdad and Tehran, adding to the already volatile and tense situation in the Middle East. The Iraqi government recalled its ambassador to Tehran and summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Baghdad to the Foreign Ministry after at least eight ballistic missiles launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck overnight in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, killing four civilians, including an 11-month-old girl. The strike came amid widespread fears that the devastating war in Israel could spiral into a more deadly confrontation. The war has already sparked a low-level regional conflict between Iranian proxy forces in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and the United States and other Wester powers. The United States, France and Britain denounced the latest Iranian attack, which shook Erbil and set off sirens at the United States Consulate and at the airport, which was forced to suspend flights.

Persons: Iran’s chargé Organizations: Tuesday, Foreign, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, United States Consulate Locations: Iraq, Baghdad, Tehran, Iran’s chargé d’affaires, Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan, Israel, Syria, Yemen, United States, France, Britain

☆ Iran Launches Missile Strikes in Iraq and Syria, Citing Terrorist Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | More About Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some Iranian leaders initially appeared to blame Israel for the attack at the Suleimani memorial, though the Islamic State claimed responsibility for it. Direct attacks by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, while not new, have been far less frequent than those conducted by Iran’s proxies. Israel retaliated by bombarding the strip, killing more than 23,000 people and displacing millions, according to Gazan health officials. We’re not tracking damage to infrastructure or injuries at this time.”Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq and is its most populous city. The Kurdish region’s security council called on the international community to condemn the Iranian attack, which it described as “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Kurdistan region and Iraq and the federal government.”

Persons: Israel, ” Organizations: Islamic State, Revolutionary, Mossad, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, Consulate, American Locations: Erbil, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Gaza, U.S, ” Erbil, Kurdistan, Kurdish

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 32 points and No. 9 Southern California beat second-ranked UCLA 73-65 on Sunday, sending the Bruins to their first loss of the season and leaving No. Charisma Osborne led the Bruins with 25 points, all in the second half in front of a sellout at Galen Center. The Bruins outscored USC 23-17 in the third, getting 13 points by Osborne, to close to 51-42. USC: Watkins propelled USC to its biggest victory of the year.

Persons: JuJu Watkins, McKenzie Forbes, Charisma Osborne, Lauren Betts, UCLA's, Londynn Jones, Kiki Rice, Lina Sontag, Watkins, Forbes, Jones, Taylor Bigby, Dugalic, Osborne, Rayah Marshall, Aaliyah Gayles, Chris Brown, Saweetie, Candace Parker, Hall, Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller, Alissa Pili, ___ Organizations: ANGELES, California, UCLA, Bruins, Trojans, Galen Center, USC, Harvard, Forbes, Hall of Famer, NEXT UCLA, AP Locations: Carolina, Colorado, Utah

For all the fears of an outbreak of fighting in the Middle East that could draw the United States, Israel and Iran into direct combat, a curious feature of the conflict so far is the care taken — in both Tehran and Washington — to avoid putting their forces into direct contact. No one knows how long that will last, American and European diplomats and other officials say. It is the most delicate of dances, rife with subtle signals, attacks and feints, and deniable action. The evidence of caution is piecemeal, but everywhere. That is considered the red line that could trigger military action against its underground nuclear complexes.

Persons: Washington — Locations: United States, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Washington, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

☆ ‘Mean Girls’ and the New (Home-Schooled) Kid in Class
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

I was a junior in college when “Mean Girls” first hit theaters, and the joke tickled me because I’d spent the last few years trying to figure out hierarchies myself: I’d been home-schooled, just like Cady. Well, not just like Cady. I left my private school after the fifth grade to be home-schooled, and a number of the communities my family dipped into along the way were similar to the gun-toting, dinosaur-loving kids from the movie. (The first time I really felt like my youth was represented onscreen was last year’s documentary series “Shiny Happy People.”) I went to seminars where we were taught that dinosaurs did roam the earth at the same time as humans, that the fossil record was designed by God to mess with scientists, and a whole lot of other things.

Persons: I’d, Cady Organizations: “

☆ ‘The Book of Clarence’ Review: Messiahs Wherever You Look
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The subject of a Jesus movie is technically Jesus. Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” paints a heavily Catholic, heavily bloody image of a suffering hero. “The Jesus Film,” produced for evangelistic purposes, takes its text entirely from the biblical account, attempting to render a literalist version of a savior. “The Book of Clarence” is something entirely different than these and dozens of other renderings. As with that series, “The Book of Clarence” is a highly ambitious attempt at relatability, with an added reverence for the old-school “Ben-Hur”-era Hollywood biblical epics.

Persons: Jesus —, —, Mel Gibson’s, Franco Zeffirelli’s “ Jesus of Nazareth ”, “, ”, William Wyler’s “ Ben, Hur, Jesus, Clarence ”, you’ve, “ Ben, Jeymes Samuel Organizations: Angel Studios, CW

☆ I made tomato sauce using 4 different appliances, and I'd never use my microwave again
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-04 | by ( Alissa Fitzgerald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I made tomato sauce using my stovetop, oven, microwave, and air fryer to find the best method. The stovetop was reliable and produced flavorful tomato sauce with a consistent texture. AdvertisementNothing is cozier in cold weather than a bubbling pot of tomato sauce. I decided to make a basic tomato sauce in my microwave, air fryer, oven, and stovetop. Here's how the different cooking appliances stacked up.

Persons: fryer, — Organizations: Service

☆ The Year’s Best Movies
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Ian Prasad Philbrick | More About Ian Prasad Philbrick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I found myself at the movies this year more often than last. And though neither metric has yet rebounded to prepandemic levels, it finally feels like the movies are, in some sense, back. Maybe it was the monotony of at-home streaming or just the desire to finally get off the couch. A quick scan of The New York Times’s list of the year’s best movies makes the point. The films, picked by the critics Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson, span a number of genres, including dramas and biopics.

Persons: I’m, Manohla Dargis, Alissa Wilkinson, Wes Anderson, Steve McQueen, Rockwell, Celine Song, ”, Martin Scorsese Organizations: Office, Osage Locations: York, Chilean

I saw hundreds of new films with a variety of plots and styles made on every imaginable scale and budget. The movies have ostensibly been at death’s door at least since the shift to sync sound, which isn’t to undersell the industry’s business woes. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was “cursed,” read one headline; “‘Mission: Impossible 7’ falls short of expectations,” ran another. The moaning in the trades gave way to klaxon horns when much of SAG-AFTRA went on strike on July 14. This year also reminded us that a mass audience will happily get out of the house for movies without superheroes.

Persons: Manohla, Rockwell, Martin Scorsese, shutdowns, Topsy, “, bullish, Indiana Jones, ”, AFTRA, Barry Diller, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer ” Organizations: Yahoo, Sundance Film, Writers Guild, SAG, Paramount, Marvel Locations: Cannes

☆ ‘Eileen’ Review: Sudden Fire, Sudden Danger
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | More About Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

McKenzie’s accent is a bit wobblier than Hathaway’s, but once you’re over that hump, the pair are thrilling together. McKenzie plays Eileen as a wide-eyed girl in arrested development who might have been an ingénue if she’d ever had a moment to sparkle. That’s you, Eileen. Oldroyd’s cold but keen eye for women pushed to the edge of a nervous breakdown by boorish, violent men meets rich ground here. Not just Eileen, but Rebecca and several other female characters are not good or angelic women, and yet they’ve clearly bent themselves to fit molds made by men.

Persons: McKenzie, Eileen, she’d, You’re, Rebecca, Radcliffe, She’s, —, she’s, William Oldroyd, Macbeth, ”, Florence Pugh Organizations: Harvard Locations: England, Moshfegh

☆ ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Review: Hayao Miyazaki Has a Question for You
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Alissa Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

That blurred distinction is a hallmark of Miyazaki, whose films (among them “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Spirited Away”) are windows into the subconscious. In interviews collected in the book “Starting Point: 1979-1996,” Miyazaki referred to a universal “yearning for a lost world” he refused to call nostalgia, since even children experience it. But that heron (voiced by Masaki Suda) keeps appearing, luring him toward the tower, taunting him with forbidden knowledge. (Robert Pattinson voices the heron in an English-language version that features Christian Bale, Gemma Chan and many others.) Even by his standards, though, “The Boy and the Heron” is enigmatic, at least regarding plot.

Persons: Miyazaki, ” Miyazaki, ”, we’ve, “, Mononoke ”, “ It’s, Masaki Suda, Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, isn’t, — Locations: Miyazaki’s, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Japan

Search resuls for: "Alissa"

25 mentions found