Io capitano

During its premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, the film received a standing ovation of 13 minutes.[16]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]

Guy Lodge of Variety reflected on the theme of the film by reporting that, compared to other European film projects dealing with African emigration to Europe, it is seen "not as a setting but as an almost mythical goal." Lodge states that the director proves to be "more robust and fulfilling" than in previous projects, and that although the film in some scenes presents "Western aesthetics and narrative instincts," it is "hard not to get caught up in the film's great emotional range" supported by the skill of actor Seydou Sarr.[19] Leslie Felperin, reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter, wrote that despite the presence of "dazzling landscapes," the film "always keeps the focus on human beings," sensing a "tension between the everyday world and the spiritual dimension, a blurring that is often a characteristic of West African cinema," due to the fact that "Garrone cares about making us think until the last moment of the film."[20] Deadline Hollywood journalist Damon Wise has described the cinematic technique adopted for the film as "impeccable," writing that cinematographer Paolo Carnera was able to convey "a surprising and engaging immediacy." Wise also says that "the film's greatest merit" was the cast of actors who are able to make the project "authentic at every stage of its audacious journey."[21]

For Italian film critic Mattia Pasquini of Ciak gave the film four stars out of five, writing that the most important factor is the "intellectual and design honesty" in which the director makes "the choice to limit his authorship." The journalist reported that although the film sidesteped some "dramatic possibilities" and presents a "mechanical" narrative in some scenes, the end result is constituted of "legitimate and uncritical choices that make the film ideologically unassailable."[22] Davide Turrini of Il Fatto Quotidiano stated that in the film "the immediate structural reference is to the Odyssey" in which "the fragile and soft innocence of the two protagonists" are "prevented from being a community of solidarity."[23] Paolo Mereghetti, reviewing the film for Corriere della Sera, wrote that the film is able to "always remain at protagonist height, identifying with their gaze, avoiding any preachy attitude" transfiguring "tragedy through the power of fantasy and fable."[24]