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# Michel Piccoli worked trouserless before it became mainstream
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/mishel-pikkoli-rabotal-bez-shtanov-do-togo-kak-eto-stalo-meinstrimom/
- Published: 2020-05-25T14:38:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:42:41.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Cinema, Observations, Humour

Michel Piccoli worked trouserless before it became mainstream. A still from Pierre Granier-Deferre's 1981 film "A Strange Affair" ("L'Étrange Affaire"). The circumstances in question are far from the humour with which a state of semi-undress is received today. The affair is indeed strange: the film concerns the psychological manipulation of a subordinate by his boss. Gradually building a supposedly friendly relationship, Bernard, the boss played by Piccoli, immerses himself in every aspect of his employee's private life; the "business" dinners and the warm hospitality turn out to be shackles from which Louis (the employee) does not know how to escape. A decidedly ambiguous closeness turns into pursuit: the boss appears in the bar where Louis is relaxing with friends, and later at night in his flat, before his dumbfounded wife; he is not shy of appearing entirely naked while shaving, tries to seduce Louis's sweetheart, and so on. Perhaps one of the first films to treat the phenomenon of burnout so seriously. The film is not easy to find online; I last watched it in France, but there is a link to an English version.