I'm not a huge Elton fan but in this case, the soundtrack really helped transport me in time to this sweet love story set in the Camargue, France in the early 1970's. It's hard to imagine now that this would have been a hugely controversial movie when it was released about two underage runaways who set up house in a remote area and learn about love and life. It just shows that love and a strong bond between two people can conquer all. Or at least it could back then before tax and electricity bills blah blah. So if you're prepared to suspend reality for a few hours and just feel hopeful for these two young lovers then you will enjoy this sweet, simple and beautiful film as much as I did. Incidentally, I went to the Camargue about 5 years ago and it remains unchanged in it's charm so for me this was a nice reminder too that there are places that exist on this earth which are unruined and rustic.

I saw the movie "Friends" in the spring of 1971 in Indianapolis. A local radio station gave away free tickets ( I think) and thought what the hell. The early seventies in Indy were kind of like the late sixties on the west coast so we were kind of going thru our hippie/love stage which was more a state of mind than anything else. Anyway the movie was appropriate for the times and I was pleasantly surprised how it just seemed to feel right at the time. Have not seen it since but can remember it like it was yesterday...that was more than 41 years ago!! Hopefully it will show up on the tube on some oldies station late a night and make me feel young again. A great low-budget movie that was right for the time. The title song and soundtrack was Elton John at his best!!!

I was in my mid teens when I saw this movie, and I was struck by the beauty of the young stars as well as the loving cinematography and the simple sweetness of the story. It amazes me to learn that Alvina has recently died, that Bury apparently has not worked in the film business for almost 30 years, and that both would be in their 50s.The Elton John soundtrack is amazingly beautiful and supports the air of protected innocence the characters experience in seclusion. I have seen the movie poster, billing it as "Deux Enfants Quis'Aiment," which apparently means something like "Two Children Who Like Each Other"--the English language distributors were wise to abbreviate the title!Paul, the ignored 15-year-old son of an English businessman living in Paris, meets Michelle, an orphan, at the zoo. The two take what they intend as a day-long holiday to Michelle's late father's rural cottage, but end up staying there for a year, isolated from the outside world. They fall in love, Michelle gets pregnant, and they have the baby alone at home. After the baby's birth, the police come to Paul's work place and take him away."Blue Lagoon" comes to mind as another film that almost captures the theme of innocence protected in an isolated paradise. So sad that "Friends" has never been released on DVD.

With all the dreck out there, this is a gentle movie about young love. Yes, it's true that young love often makes more out of something than it deserves, but why aren't people down on "Romeo and Juliet"? Paul and Michelle are models of good behave compared to them.Yes, they run away, and set up an ideal life, but this is a movie, not real life. Paul is more sexually interested than Michelle, who has been come onto in a bad way. Eventually, they have sex, but no one is forced into it. The movie does let kids know that sex can cause babies.One thing, there is nudity in the movies. The camera does not focus on it, but it is there.The ending of the movie has Paul in good chance of being found out. In "Paul and Michelle", they separate for a time. If you don't like the ending of a movie, think one up yourself. Alternative endings are not just for DVDs.