Variety called the film "an excellent contemporary espionage drama of the Cold War which achieves solid impact via emphasis on human values, total absence of mechanical spy gimmickry, and perfectly controlled underplaying." Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "It is not an easy, certainly not a pleasant, picture to sit through; too impersonal, too objective, to move us to weep, so that its ending can only leave us tremendously depressed."
The reviewer's assessment highlights the film's ability to evoke a strong emotional response through its thoughtful exploration of human values during a tumultuous period in history, using a nuanced approach that avoids melodrama or sentimentality.