Be Good Smile Pretty (2003)

A powerfully moving personal exploration of a grief for the father she never knew this awardwinning film chronicles Tracy Droz Tragos heartwrenching quest to understand and cope with a loss shared by the estimated 20000 Americans whose fathers were killed in Vietnam Weaving emotionally compelling interviews with home movies stock footage and family photos Tragos travels from Selma Alabama to the US Senate in search of her fathers Naval Academy roommates and war buddies each of whom has been silently mourning his death and remembers her fathers life in his own way Along her journey Tragos uncovers a 30yearold mystery as she comes to know her father as a man untangled from the memory of a war that wounded a nation And while some discoveries are almost too difficult to bear it is ultimately the truth that allows her and her entire family to understand and move forward