Is No One Saw Us Leave on Netflix based on a true story?

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People watching Netflix are deeply touched by the new documentary-style drama, ‘No One Saw Us Leave,’ which tells the story of a mother’s heartbreaking journey to find her children after they were taken from her.

I was completely floored by the twist in this story! It turns out the kidnapper isn’t some stranger, but the kids’ own father, Leo, played by Emiliano Zurita. He takes off with them after finding out his wife, Valeria (Tessa Ia), has been having an affair – and with his own brother, no less! It’s a really shocking reveal.

Deeply hurt by the betrayal, he takes his children, Tamara and Isaac, to live abroad. Meanwhile, his family back in Mexico works to ruin Valeria’s standing in their town.

This story is based on Tamara’s life story, as she remembered it years later. It tells a sad tale through the eyes of a child who didn’t fully grasp how serious things were at the time.

Read on for more on the true story behind No One Saw Us Leave on Netflix.

Is No One Saw Us Leave on Netflix based on a true story?

The novel Yes, No One Saw Us Leave is inspired by the real-life experiences of Tamara Trottner and her brother, Isaac, which she detailed in her memoir, Nadie nos vio partir.

Originally written in Spanish, the book hasn’t been translated into English yet, but the recent Netflix series might change that.

This memoir really got to me. The author, Trottner, powerfully recounts being separated from her mother as a child – a loss she wouldn’t grasp the full weight of until years down the line. It’s a heartbreaking story, and she tells it with such raw honesty.

The show portrays Valeria’s parents as having a marriage devoid of love. This unhappy dynamic leads Valeria, portrayed by Tessa Ia, to begin an affair with her brother-in-law, Carlos (Gustavo Bassani).

After Valeria’s secret comes out, her husband Leo and his influential family try to ruin her life. They attempt to take her children and damage her standing within their tight-knit Mexican Jewish community.

At first, the children thought they were going on a surprise vacation, but it soon became clear that something else was happening.

Trottner refers to the day her father abducted her, when she was five, as the end of her childhood. The book’s description vividly captures how traumatic the experience was.

It’s hard for a five-year-old to make sense of such confusing feelings – loving and hating the same people, wanting revenge while also needing protection, and trying to trust someone who hasn’t been honest. She’s caught between strong, conflicting emotions.

Valeria refuses to simply accept the loss of her children. She hires a private investigator, a former Mossad agent, hoping he can find them.

Leo won’t let Valeria see their children without a fight. He takes them to Europe and then Israel, determined to put as much distance between them as possible and stop her from ever seeing them again.

What happened to Leo Saltzman?

For several months, Leo Saltzman kept his children from their other parent, but this ended when a court in Jerusalem told him he had to go back to Mexico for a custody hearing.

I was so relieved when Valeria finally got her kids back. It broke my heart knowing what they’d been through, and sadly, they didn’t have any contact with their father for twenty years. They really struggled to heal after he took them, and it was a long road for all of them.

What happened to Tamara Trottner?

Tamara Trottner, who was born Tamara Saltzman, is a successful author. She’s written two books, including her memoir, which inspired the Netflix series No One Saw Us Leave.

Her second book, Pronunciaré sus nombres, continues to draw from her family’s story, this time focusing on her grandparents and their journey as refugees escaping growing antisemitism in Europe by coming to America.

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2025-10-23 17:06