The Doll: Elahe Esmaili’s short documentary invites a look at a custom that feels foreign and anachronic, the marriage of a woman at a very young age. The film is very delicate, and while the issue seems to be straightforward at first, nuances keep popping up as more interviews and scenes. At the same time, a window into the complexities of the Iranian culture is shown, as the characters pick-and-choose which aspects of traditionalism they defend. The filmmaker is careful to avoid taking sides explicitly about this practice in general, instead letting the viewers build their own opinion on the subject. The film’s aesthetics are simple and efficient, starting with the way cinematographer Emad Arad shot the interviews; editors Bahram Emrani and Delaram Shemirani nicely weave the interviews so the new insights come as bits of surprise.