Aside from box office losses, reviews were "generally negative". Roger Ebert gave "The Touch" two and a half stars, calling it "an unexpected failure of tone from a director to whom tone has usually been second nature," but doubting that language was the issue. In "The New York Times", Vincent Canby believed language was the problem, describing the dialogue as "lifeless translations" and the film as dull. Much of the negative attention was directed at Gould. Richard Schickel was favourable, calling the film "as mature, mysterious and disturbing as anything Bergman has done in the last few years". Gene Siskel awarded three out four stars, writing, "In "The Touch", Bergman is not a magician, but a fine filmmaker presenting a small story". Other favourable reviews were written by Penelope Gilliatt in "The New Yorker", Molly Haskell in "Village Voice" and Jan Dawson in "The Monthly Film Bulletin", who wrote it was "probably the most memorable and the most moving portrait of a lady that Bergman has given us". At the Belgrade Film Festival, Andersson won an award for Best Actress.