Netflix premiered this Wednesday, July 22 Elize: Shadows of a womana Brazilian film inspired by the true story of Elize Matsunagaconvicted of murdering and dismembering her husband, businessman Marcos Matsunaga, in a case that shocked Brazil in 2012.

The psychological thriller, directed by Felipe Vellas and written by Raphael Montes together with Mariana Torres, reconstructs from fiction the relationship between the two and the events that led to one of the crimes. most resonant in the country. The film has a duration of 91 minutes and is already among the most viewed titles on the platform.

The story takes up a case that Netflix had already addressed in the docuseries Elize Matsunaga: Once upon a time there was a crimealthough now it opts for a dramatized narrative that focuses on the evolution of the couple’s bond and the circumstances prior to the homicide.

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The cast is headed by Lorena Comparato like Elize Matsunaga and Henrique Kimura like Marcos Matsunaga. Denise Weinberg, Julia Konrad, Miwa Yanagizawa, Gustavo Falcão, Julia Shimura, Marat Descartes, Flora Sandyá, Edson Kameda, Erica Montanheiro and Arthur Toyoshima also participate.

The real story behind “Elize: Shadows of a Woman”

The film is inspired by the case of Elize Matsunaga, a woman who in May 2012 shot her husband to deathMarcos Matsunaga, dismembered his body and abandoned the remains at different points in a wooded area of ​​Cotia, in the metropolitan area of ​​São Paulo.

Elize Araújo Giacomini -his surname at birth- was born in Chopinzinho, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, and grew up in a context of economic difficulties. As he declared years later, his childhood was marked by abandonment of his father and for alleged abuse committed by his stepfather.

Already in adulthood he began to work as a companion and posted an ad on a dating site. There he met Marcos Kitano Matsunagaheir to the Yoki food company. At that time he was married and had a son, but he began a relationship with Elize, he separated from his first wife and then he married her.

For a time they planned a life of luxury in Sao Paulowith trips, recreational activities and a privileged economic situation. However, as the years went by, the relationship began to deteriorate.

Elize began to suspect that Marcos was maintaining a extramarital relationship and hired a private detective. The investigation confirmed that the businessman had a link with another woman named Karinawhom he would also have met through an escort portal.

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On May 19, 2012, he received the evidence collected by the detective. That night, when Marcos returned to the apartment with some pizzas, they both maintained a strong discussion.

The film takes that episode as the axis of the story and reconstructs the different interpretations of what happened within the department, a moment of which only Elize’s own versions and the subsequent conclusions of the judicial investigation existed.

Screenwriter Raphael Montes explained the approach chosen for the production: “This is not just a film about a crime. The objective was to tell a story that also made people think. We wanted to open a dialogue about the violence:What led Elize to commit such a brutal act?”

For her part, Mariana Torres pointed out: “We wanted to show the duality of this woman. It’s a story that people can relate to in many ways, but unfortunately with the worst possible outcome”.

What happened after the crime and how the Elize Matsunaga court case ended

Elize recognized having taken one of the weapons that was in the house and shot Marcos Matsunaga in the head. According to his version, he acted during an argument after feel threatened and after having suffered situations of violence within the relationship.

The Prosecutor’s Office held a different hypothesis. For investigators, the trajectory of the shot, the distance from which it was fired and the subsequent actions indicated that the homicide could have been planned.

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After the murder, Elize remained in the apartment for several hours. Then dismembered the bodydistributed the remains in bags and placed them inside three suitcases before moving them to an area of ​​Cotia.

The building’s security cameras recorded the moment Marcos entered the apartment, but never came out again. They also showed Elize leaving the building with several suitcases and returning without them. That evidence was decisive for the investigation.

Initially he tried to maintain that her husband had disappearedbut the accumulation of evidence ended up collapsing that version. He finally confessed to having committed the crime, although he always denied that there had been any prior planning.

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The trial began in December 2016. The main debate did not revolve around the authorship of the homicide, which had already been recognized, but rather whether the murder had been premeditated. The jury declared her guilty of aggravated homicide and concealment of corpse.

At first he received a sentence over 18 years old of prison. In 2019, the Superior Court of Justice reduced the sentence to 16 years and 3 months considering that his confession contributed to the clarification of the case.

After completing approximately ten years in prisonin May 2022 he accessed the open regime provided for by Brazilian legislation. Since then she has maintained a low profile and remains away from public exposure.

The film also shows the impact that the case had about the couple’s daughterwho was about a year old when the crime occurred. After Elize’s arrest, the girl was placed in the custody of her paternal grandparents, who protected her identity and prevented her public exposure.

RV.