The Chairman versus a writer—one may wonder why the all-powerful would take an almost personal interest in crushing the brittle bones of the powerless. With numerous interviews, witness testimonials, and a compelling narrative based on painstaking research, this well-made documentary retraces the horrible process of the condemnation of Hu Feng and his " anti-Party and counter-revolutionary clique," and brings us to the realization that the first large-scale persecution of writers in Mao's New China has far-reaching significance and ramifications that form part of the recent history from whose shadow China and the Chinese today are trying very hard to step out. What S. Louisa Wei and Peng Xiaolian have done is truly important, because much of the recent history needs to be preserved and told, particularly when the power to be still chooses to repress the reality of history.