It looks interesting but not mind-blowingly different. Without actually seeing it does Jesus & the other thieves look as if they are struggling for life on the crosses? Do they move & writhe around, heaving themselves up in agony, arching forward, etc. all the movements that victims would make in such a terrible & traumatic situation? Every Jesus film I've seen all the actors just stand there motionless with a pained expression as if desperate for the photo-shoot to end & they can get to the bar again! It must be possible to make these scenes without the curse of the inevitable loincloth as well.
After Scorsese the idea of a naked Christ on the cross cannot be a taboo any more, but obviously still full frontal would be pushing it that bit too far. But there must be ways to do a naked crucifixion scene as well as keep a respect for the sensibilities of pious Christians. Nobody is going to be outraged by bare buttocks, so I could imagine a film where the views of the complete cross would be from behind or the side, this would also show the mocking crowd in front & their eager faces enjoying the humiliation of Christ; that would be quite a moving heady notion that so far has never been exploited in film. To make it even more intense the back view of the cross could show the knees splayed wide leaving us with no doubt as to what the crowd were laughing & pointing at. Interspersed with this could be close-ups shots of Christ's face & torso from just above the groin, some pubic hair showing would make the situation clear. His face would show, if he was a good enough actor, the mix of terrible agony as well as shame & humiliation of how he is being displayed. Long shots from the front could be possible as any intimate detail would be pretty sketchy.
I think similarly the scourging could be the same, shown from behind, as is fairly usual. But the bearing the cross bit he'd have to have his robe or chemise-type of garment back on again. But this could be good as it could show the thin material sticking to the bloodied back. The thinness also making it clear when viewed from the front that Christ had nothing on underneath; shots of the crowd goading him would show that they are all fully aware of this & that very soon the garment would be removed. At the cross the savage removal of this garment, again with careful camera angles (maybe from low down) could be very intense.
I think it possible to make a realistic crucifixion scene in a movie without stepping over the bounds of acceptability, it would make the utter horror of what Christ had to endue all the more shocking.
