This reinterpretation of Chaplin's The Kid in an underground, claustrophobic world, transforms the classic material into a dystopian, grotesque masked ball. A full century lies between Chaplin's first feature-length film and Pfaffenbichler's very free reimagining of that work. The Kid, shot in 1920, is a story from the zones of the lumpenproletariat, a tragicomic-moral tale of child abandonment and police violence. 2551.01 is all that, too - and yet just 100 years, all manner of cinematic history breaks and countless wars removed from Chaplin's bittersweet patchwork comedy. "With the no-budget lumpenproletariat neo-silent experimental horror film 2551.01, Norbert Pfaffenbichler has succeeded in creating a visually stunning work that can hardly be put into words. The greatest sensory delight of this film, however, is its sheerly incomprehensible set." (Critic)
