It is a dramatic movie, with the look and feel of a documentary that examines the lives of a bomb disposal crew in Iraq. The film called The Hurt Locker won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

A central part of the movie was a bomb protection suit and it was designed in Ottawa and most built in Pembroke.

The Hurt Locker follows a three-man U.S. army bomb disposal team in Iraq. One man wears the bomb suit designed and built in Ottawa. This is the first time Hollywood has done an up-close look at life and death as a bomb tech

The suit was originally designed by a firm called Med-Eng, now part of Allen Vanguard. Now U.S.-owned, the firm is still based in Ottawa and sells its bomb suit in over 100 nations.

They provided one of the $30,000 dollar suits to the filmmakers, plus did training for the actors on how to work in a suit that weighs in at over 30 kilos – while outside temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius.

Actor Guy Pearce wore the suit, and said, "I don't know how the guys do it in real life. It must be the adrenaline that lets them do the job. I don't know how they can do the really small work that demands dexterity. With the heat you are wavering on the edge of collapse."

The film has won nearly 80 awards now. Director Kathryn Bigelow, who won the Best Director Academy Award, wanted to create a film that took people into the world of bomb techs

"The Hurt Locker takes you right there with the team. You can be the fourth member of the team in that Humvee and take a walk with those soldiers."

The company put CTV's Paul Brent into a bomb suit. He says, "It was surprisingly comfortable, and well-designed to allow me as much movement as possible. The helmet, at over four kilos, made you a bit top-heavy but pretty balanced."

It is easy to see how this suit could become unbearably hot. Former Canadian Forces bomb tech Rob Reynolds now works for Allen Vanguard. He was joined by Aris Markis, design developer for the suit.

Markis says the movie is "The best treatment yet, and based on all we know about the suit and how it performs, what they showed was not far from the truth."

Markis says the company has blown up more than 600 suits in testing, all to produce a better unit.

"It is a constant struggle to balance the demands of protection with the needs of the person to do their job, with all the risks they face. The movie was good at showing all those hazards."

Rob Reynolds says, "I think the movie did a good job at showing the psychological side of what you go through: the nerves, the worry, the adrenaline. And how you can find yourself home again, and not fitting in, and before you know you are over on another tour."

Reynolds did tours of duty as a bomb tech in Bosnia, the first Gulf War and in Afghanistan. He knows what its like from inside the suit.

"Some of the scenes were not what I would do in that kind of scenario, but it did a good job of showing there are some guys who just say, ‘Let's go. Let's get it done.'

"Some have a bit of the cowboy, and others who are much more deliberate and safety-conscious, and want to follow the training. And the training is what will save you."

Reynolds adds he would much rather deal with the known risk of explosives than be on patrol and never know when or where the risk is coming.