The film also shows amateur footage from inside the DPRK as well as interviews Hyeonseo Lee and other defectors.

"[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[9] Writing for /Film, Ben Pearson gave the film a score of 9 out of 10 and found the handheld footage to be "nothing short of extraordinary.

"[10] Variety's Owen Gleiberman praised the film for showing audiences the "forgotten" tragedy of North Korea through its use of impressive first-hand camerawork.

[11] In a more mixed review, Daniel Fienberg, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, found the film to have a tension-filled and emotional story while following the defecting families, but derided the inclusion of a "dry and lifeless" history lesson on North Korea that didn't fit alongside the compelling first-hand accounts.