Netflix launches 'Elize: Shadows of a Woman' dramatizing the 2012 Matsunaga murder

Netflix added a new fictional film, Elize: Sombras de Uma Mulher (English title Elize: Shadows of a Woman), to its catalogue on 22 July. The 90‑minute thriller dramatizes the 2012 killing of Marcos Matsunaga, heir to the Yoki food‑processing company, by his wife Elize Matsunaga. Unlike the 2021 Netflix documentary on the case, the film imagines the couple’s private moments, focusing on a toxic, jealous relationship that led to the murder and subsequent dismemberment of the victim. It was written by Raphael Montes and Mariana Torres, directed by Felipe Vellas, and stars Lorena Comparato as Elize and Henrique Kimura as Marcos. Production notes reveal the cast prepared with therapy and intimacy coordination to handle the story’s emotional weight. The release revives public discussion of domestic violence, femicide and the psychological dynamics behind the crime while offering a purely fictionalized narrative for a global streaming audience.