Doggedly old-fashioned and jerry-rigged to appeal to round-the-clock devotees of Turner Classic Movies, "The Children of Huang Shi" is a tidily told historical epic that, at times, seems more interested in scenery than the savagery inherent in its story.

"Inspired by a true story," the film follows English journalist George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) as he arrives in Shanghai in 1937 to report on the Japanese sacking of China. Naïve but possessing a passion for social justice, Hogg lands in smoldering Nanking and witnesses atrocities beyond belief. Hogg personally sees a group of 200 men, women and children butchered and murdered.

The story is more than Hogg bargained for, and he nearly winds up joining the victims. Fate leads him to a self-trained American nurse (Rhada Mitchell), who sends him to the relative safety of a makeshift orphanage where an elderly woman (Shuyuan Jin) cares for 60 boys who could be charitably described as "energetic." Imagine a bag full of squirrels and you get the idea.

The heart of the movie surrounds Hogg's relationship with the boys, which moves from adversarial to parental, from despair to hope.

There's also something of a love triangle, and lots and lots of lovely scenery, which director Roger Spottiswoode cuts to at every opportunity.

It's a heroic story, but one delivered in a ploddingly familiar fashion with beautiful actors doing their best to give their noble characters a trace of humanity. The film's lack of emotional vibrancy is rather remarkable given the historical events.

Laborious and artificial, the hard-earned redemption in "Huang Shi" turns out to be almost as painful for the audience as it is for Hogg.

THE CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI

R: disturbing, violent content

Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Rhada Mitchell.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode.

Running time: 2 hr. 5 min.

Playing: Laemmle's Town Center 5 in Encino; Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena; Edwards Atlantic Palace 10 in Alhambra; The Landmark in West Los Angeles.

In a nutshell: Ploddingly familiar redemption tale.