Searching for Saved Rounds

By turns hilarious and brutal, Saved Rounds tells the story of Doc, an Iraq war veteran who visits the family of a one of his Marines who died in combat. Despite being only fifteen minutes long, this film takes us on a journey through a bewildering array of emotions: laughter, anger, profound sadness and finally peacefulness. Most shorts focus in on one emotion and it really is a testament to both Doc’s acting ability and his writing ability. The short was written by Doc Farrow, with a story by Deborah Leonhardt. The latter also plays Doc’s girlfriend in the film quite convincingly. The short is also directed superbly by John Finn, who is best known for his acting in The Walking Dead, Ad Astra and 1989’s Glory.

Saved Rounds begins with Doc driving through the southern California desert with his girlfriend Laurie. We’re not sure where they’re going, but it’s immediately clear that Doc is being haunted by his fallen war buddy, who appear in the desert and all around the truck. These ghosts torment him with jokes and criticism; especially for forgetting to fill up the tank before setting out across the dessert. The ribbing from the ghosts is funny, but it’s clear that Doc is really suffering. The only one he trusts and relies on is Laurie, who isn’t very impressed at having to trek across the sand with an empty jerry can. Eventually, we discover the reason for their trip. Doc is visiting the family of a good friend of his, the marine Rod, who died in Iraq. Rod’s family is not happy to see Doc, and this pushes Doc right over the edge. Over the course of the film, Doc, Rod and Rod’s family search for peace and resolution.

The title, Saved Rounds, is open to interpretation. Its primary meaning is extra ammunition and it’s a term used by Marines. But in the context of the film, it seems to refer to the inner strength we hope might still be there after experiencing a devastating loss or traumatic event. The question of the film is whether Doc has anything left after losing so many friends. Saved Rounds clearly deals with post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and the effects this has both on the sufferer and those around them. PTSD casts a long shadow, even long after the events which caused it. One message of the film is what Rod tells his family through Doc: “When everything goes wrong, you should keep on smiling.” In light of this piece of wisdom, it is perhaps no coincidence that Doc Farrow, who, according to IMDb, served 6 years as a Navy Corpsman, including sixteen months in Iraq, became a stand up comedian, as well as becoming an actor. A lot of the power of Saved Rounds comes from Doc’s ability to convincingly portray so many emotions. Doc’s character is compelling, and the acting does the character full justice.

One major theme of the film is that of understanding. We discover near the end that Laurie’s father served in Vietnam and went through difficult times. This seems to be one reason she’s able to connect to Doc. By contrast, the reaction of Rod’s mother upon seeing Doc is quite shocking, and, to the viewer’s mind, unfair. We know that Doc is suffering from survivor’s guilt and that it has nearly cost him his life. But Rod’s mother neither knows this, or does she really seem to care. From her point of view, the loss of her son is inexcusable and she probably will never really get over this loss. So her need to lash out is understandable from one point of view. But the effect of her reaction on Doc is also devastating.

This raises the question of whether those who haven’t had any firsthand experience with military life and PTSD can really understand those who’ve gone through it. Doc, though, has no choice. He must persevere despite Rod’s family’s lack of understanding and continue to deal with a world that mostly doesn’t understand what he’s gone through and what he’s going through. Saved Rounds seems in large part an attempt to help those who do not have any such experience understand, even just a bit, those who have. This is not a unique feature of a war film, but it is a lesson we need to relearn again and again. And this film does an admirable job of accomplishing that task.