An anachronism.
Pierre Granier-Deferre was continuing the great tradition of the old French cinema; at his best,he produced little gems such as "le chat" ,"le train" or "une étrange affaire" ,the latter ,IMHO ,his towering achievement.
"L'Ami de Vincent is " back -to-the-thirties -forties -movies- made- of -sketches
which Julien Duvivier lent credibility to ; and back to the fifties, when music hall acts (with topless girls) were included now and then in the action ;the cast and credits are vulgar and flashy .
A girl shoots at Vincent ,a trumpet player , in his dressing room;although she fires several times,he's got only a scratch : this lady would not be able to hit the broad side of a barn !As she was in it to avenge her crushed sister , Vincent's friend (hence the title) goes in search of the mysterious sister ,who was once a true love of his:but he had so many lovers(4 full pages) that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
So begins the task ;every girl is the subject of a sketch ,most of them are derivative and dull ,just a pretext to show a bevy of beautiful actresses (Marie -France Pisier ,Marie Dubois ,Jane Birkin); the rapport both actors have is obvious , but the paucity of the ideas does not help ; nice views of Strasbourg town .
