In the "Chicago Sun-Times", Roger Ebert awarded "Samsara" a full four stars, writing that it provided "an uplifting experience" through its use "of powerful images, most magnificent, some shocking, all photographed with great care in the highest possible HD resolution." Ebert extolled the film's capturing of images of what may eventually be lost to humanity and noted that there were also images that could reflect the reason for these losses. Katie Walsh, writing for indieWire's "The Playlist", applauded "Samsara"s "technical achievements" and noted that the film used the "intellectual montage" technique. Walsh said the film was similar to "Man with a Movie Camera", but took "the idea to new global and spiritual heights." She said of the film's entirety, "While one can discuss the technical prowess of these shocking and beautiful images, it doesn't do justice to the spiritual cinematic power of this work."