Included in this year's Cannes competition, the film received awards for Mungiu's screenplay and for the two main actresses, Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur. The film recently received the Golden Astor for Best Film at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the most important film festival in South America.

The film was released on November 21st and 22nd in France and Benelux and was highly praised by French media. In Le Figaro, film critic Eric Neuhoffen titled his article Beyond the Hills, one hell of a good movie, while La Croix stated that Beyond the Hills is a masterful movie.