THE 21

Here is the decision. This is a thirteen-minute animated short honoring the 21 Coptic Christians ISIS abducted and killed in 2015 — men who chose death over renouncing the name of Jesus. It is one of the most powerful things you could watch this year, and it is not gentle.

The film shows the capture, the torture, and the killings. All the violence is animated, and the killings are shown from a distance — but the subject is exactly what it sounds like, and it will bring many viewers to tears. Woven among the animation are real photographs of the actual men, so you never forget these were real people.

If you are an older teen or an adult who can carry this weight, carry it — the reward is a portrait of faith few films ever reach. If you are choosing for children, choose something else and come back to this one later. So: worth the trip, for grown hearts.

In the 2010s, ISIS began a campaign of terror against Christians in North Africa, and Coptic Christians in northern Egypt became a favored target.

THE 21 follows a group of these men — some seized on the road home, others taken in a raid on their settlement — as their captors first treat them well, then demand they disown God and convert to Islam. All 21 refuse. What follows is their testing, and the legacy they leave behind. This short animated film, the work of more than 70 artists worldwide, tells the rest.

Four stars, and they are earned. THE 21 is an extremely well-made animated short, built by more than 70 artists from around the world — an international effort chosen on purpose, because the event struck the whole world and deserves to be honored by everyone.

The art has a haunting beauty. Despite the graphic nature of the torture and murder, the story is told tastefully, never wallowing. Its finest choice is to intersperse the animation with real footage and photographs from the event, so viewers keep realizing these were living men, not just drawn characters — a glimpse of the men's actual faces, as their killers photograph them, is particularly moving. In thirteen minutes it accomplishes what many features never do.

THE 21 teaches very strong Christian and biblical values, and it does so without softening the cost. Its whole argument is that faith is more important than life itself when you are walking with Jesus. Faced with torture that could end the moment they renounced Him, all 21 men endure to the end rather than commit apostasy — and one even prays for Jesus to forgive their killers.

Scripture is woven through it plainly. The men draw hope from Jesus' warning that His followers will suffer as He did. Christian images fill the film: visions of Jesus and of angels watching over the men and walking beside them, giving them strength to keep moving forward. Even their captors are shaken — some see the face of Jesus and are terrified, and the ground itself seems to shake beneath them, though they believe their false god is the only true one. The film presents Islam, in the men who murder the 21, as a false and evil religion.

This is martyrdom shown as the early church understood it — witness sealed in blood. The men's own comfort was Christ's promise, and it belongs here too: "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Thirteen minutes will not leave you unchanged. THE 21 honors real men who died rather than deny their Savior, and it does so with beauty, honesty, and reverence. It is intense, and the subject is exactly what it seems — so for older teens and adults, this is worth the trip — adults only. Choosing tonight's family movie instead? Start with our latest family-friendly picks.