Patricia Rozema says the film was an easy choice for her career

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By Lee-Anne Goodman
THE CANADIAN PRESS

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TORONTO - "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" might seem an oddly American choice for famed Canadian director Patricia Rozema to take on, but the filmmaker says she fell in love with the story about a feisty young girl defending the rights of the homeless during the Great Depression.

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The Canadian Press

Abigail Breslin is shown in a scene from “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.”

The Associated Press

Abigail Breslin, centre, Madison Davenport, left, and Brieanne Jansen are shown in a scene from “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.” The style of the 1930s dictates Kit to wear long girlie dresses that do look dated, but her headbands, floral prints and even T-strap shoes are part of the 21st century closet.

"It didn't seem American-centric, because America didn't own the Depression -- it happened here, it happened in Europe," Rozema said in an interview earlier this week in downtown Toronto in advance of the film's Fourth of July release.

"I simply loved the values the script was giving kids. Kit's a journalist, she's fighting for social justice, she's learning not to feel shame for having to wear dresses made out of feed sacks -- all that felt like it could be contemporary, although I had no idea all these foreclosures were going to be happening in the U.S. when the movie came out, and that the film would actually end up being quite contemporary."

The film, starring Abigail Breslin of "Little Miss Sunshine" fame, Chris O'Donnell and Julia Ormond, is based on the American Girl series of children's historical novels that has spawned a wildly successful line of dolls and accessories. Filmed entirely in Toronto -- eagle-eyed Torontonians will recognize the Don River valley, in particular, as it fills in for a 1930s "hobo jungle" in Cincinnati, Ohio -- "Kit Kittredge" gently explores issues of class, race and gender.

It's garnered critical praise in the U.S., with the New York Times declaring: "This classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "It has a great look, engaging performances, real substance and even a few whispers of political ideas."

Rozema, 49, one of Canada's best-known and most celebrated filmmakers, says she's delighted the movie is getting such a positive reception. The director, who was born to a straitlaced Dutch Calvinist family in Sarnia, Ont. says "Kit Kittredge" was an easy next choice for her career.