In the cold, faraway reaches of the Arctic wilderness, a crew from an American mining company discover a cake of ice with a cryogenically preserved body inside. At the research center some distance away, scientists cut through the ice with lasers, and on the operating table a neanderthal man comes to life.

Dr. Brady (Lindsay Crouse) wants to perform experiments on the primitive being's body to learn the secrets of cryogenics for future generations. What cell structures have preserved the flesh of this 40,000-year-old man? Dr. Shepard (Timothy Hutton), an anthropologist, is intrigued by the possibility of studying the savage to gain insights into human nature. He argues that "maybe his spirit can teach more than his flesh."

The scientists allow the Iceman, dubbed "Charlie," to be placed in a domed "natural environment" they have created adjacent to the research center. Dr. Shepard finds Charlie a curious individual despite his evident discomfort in an alien environment. The anthropologist finally communicates with the Iceman when together they sing a version of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold."

When Charlie breaks out of the vivarium and runs wildly through the research center, he is frightened by a mirror, a copier, and an elevator. After visiting with Eskimos to find out more about their religious traditions, Dr. Shepard realizes that Charlie has mistaken a helicopter flying over the dome for a trickster god. This strange encounter sets the stage for the surprise ending of Iceman.

Fred Schepisi, the Australian director whose credits include The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith and Barbarosa, has stated: "Iceman is a way of looking at us. There is wonder in looking at someone who is really us from the beginning." Shot in frigid British Columbia, the movie conveys the sublime beauty of the Arctic landscape. Schepisi notes, "I thought this film could have, as novelist Vladimir Nabokov observed, 'the precision of poetry and the intuition of science.' "

John Lone, a classically trained Chinese actor who won an Obie Award for The Dance and the Railroad, wins our sympathy and respect as the Iceman. Through his performance, the audience senses both excitement and danger in the meeting between primitive and modern men.

Screenwriters Chip Proser and John Drimmer have given us a tale that arouses our interests in primitive man in the same vein as Quest for Fire. And like Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, the film can be enjoyed both as an adventure yarn and as a peep into our evolutionary past.