They travel to the idyllic marshlands of the Camargue where Michelle has a very small cottage to which she and her recently deceased artist father periodically escaped from their home in Arles.

"[4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also gave the film one star and called it "a saccharine story" that teases the payoff of the two characters sleeping together until "the audience are made to feel like Peeping Toms.

"[5] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety agreed and found the film's plot "requires a sensitive adult mind" but "lacks by a wide margin the requisite treatment, more often than not being patronizingly voyeuristic.

Anicée Alvina, however, was singled out by Davies for praise as an actress with "an alarmingly precocious charm, and she manages to survive the most embarrassing situations with aplomb.

"[8] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote a positive review, calling Friends "a film of rare tenderness and charm" with "winning performances" from both leads.

He believed that the movie's greatest strength was "its evocation of Arcadia, that magic, protected place where life may be lived as the rest of us can only dream.