Based on 94 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, The Italian has an overall approval rating from critics of 91%, with an average score of 7.2/10. The film's director throws a beautiful, somewhat gauzy light over its world, gently softening its harder angles, creating a sense of unreality that carries the story and protagonist through a remarkable journey. A deeply moving experience, alternately funny and sad, it has the ring of truth, from the chill of a Russian winter to the coldness displayed by adults profiting from a trade in orphans, making it a poignant and unforgettable drama about an orphan's search for his birth mother.