‘A Little Women’s Christmas’: Can Idealism Help Real Life?

It’s a rule of the genre that Christmas movies are meant to be about escapism and happily-ever-afters, but for filmmaker Brian Bird, he thinks they can help us learn how to handle hardship.

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Best known for co-creating TV drama When Calls the Heart, Brian’s latest project A Little Women’s Christmas is a gentle reimagining of Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale, offering a story of hope and connection that places family at the centre of our lives.

“I want to tell stories that lift people’s hearts,” Brian told Hope 103.2’s UNDISTRACTED podcast.

“Everyone else wants to bring us vampires and zombies, [I want] to stir up soul cravings.”

Brian’s career spans more than 40 years, including work on Touched by an Angel, The Case for Christ, Captive and Not Easily Broken. What draws him to these scripts is a commitment to positive storytelling, which is part of what helped When Calls the Heart become a global favourite.

Best known for co-creating TV drama When Calls the Heart, Brian’s latest project A Little Women’s Christmas is a gentle reimagining of Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale.

“I’ve always believed we should strive to be about something bigger than ourselves,” Brian said.

“To offer hope and amplify light.

“There are plenty of people who want to amplify darkness, [but] I choose to do the other thing.”

Set in the small Tennessee town of Alcott Grove, A Little Women’s Christmas sees a modern-day Jo March returns home to spend Christmas with her sisters and get over the writer’s block that’s stalling her next novel. Unbeknownst to her, her editor follows along, and their unexpected romance is threatened when she uncovers his true identity.

The bond between the sisters, and how they rally around each other, is what anchors the entire film.

The bond between the sisters, and how they rally around each other, is what anchors the entire film.

“The March sisters are a cord of four strands that cannot easily be broken,” Brian said.

“When sisters love each other and have that bond, nothing can break them.”

To keep the sincerity of characters in a feel-good context, and for it not to be too cheesy, Brian explains it’s “a balance between realism and idealism”.

“We [do] choose to put a little more idealism in the mix, but we still want to tell stories that feel real and honest,” Brian said.

“Our characters face loss, sickness, disappointment – real things people deal with – [but] it’s the way our characters recover from it [that] becomes something people can learn from.

Listen to this episode of UNDISTRACTED in the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts.

“If we can show people how someone gets through something hard, and it helps them in their own lives, that’s a gift.”

Keen eyed Australian fans will also spot Australian Idol alumni Dean Geyer (Glee, A Ring for Christmas) on screen as Ben Kirke.

“[Dean] was just going to be there to support his wife, Jillian Murray (Jo March),” Brian said.

“And we looked at him and said, ‘Why are you just sitting around? You should be in the movie.’

“It ended up being such a fun addition for all of us.”

A Little Women’s Christmas is in cinemas December 4.

Listen to this episode of UNDISTRACTED in the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Feature image: Supplied (Heritae Films)