The Dardennes brothers are the European arthouse sensations who have wowed critics internationally since the release of their 1996 film La Promesse. Their following film, Rosetta, won the Palme D'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. They've won an award at every Cannes Film Festival that they've played at since and are the most recent of a band of only six directors who have won the Palme D'Or twice (the second time for their 2005 film L'Enfant). Their films are notorious for their portrayal for the grim and difficult social situation in which their characters are based, what in England might be called gritty, kitchen sink drama. There's a touch more élan to the films of the brothers, and this is demonstrated by their latest release. The Kid with a Bike opens, winner of the Grand Prix at last year's Cannes Film Festival, starts a limited release in UK cinemas today.

Truthfully, we here at Because Magazine's Culture section approach the films of the Dardennes brothers ruefully, and we make sure we have something fun and diverting to go to afterwards. No such reservations were necessary for this film. A simple story of boy slowly being disowned by his father, and the relationship that the boy develops with a local hairdresser, this film is actually a lot more audience friendly than it might sound, or its pre-history dictates. At its core (and denouement) is a sweet, heart-rending softness that it is impossible to not fall for. The Dardennes brothers have a quality of working with non-professional child actors to great effect (see: Rosetta), but this the first film by the duo to take a more traditional approach to film storytelling, not as overly reliant on natural lighting and handheld cameras as some of their previous work, and in Cécile de France demonstrate the first time they've worked with a bona fide international star actress. She, like the rest of the film, is wonderful and it should be top of your list to do this bright, sunny weekend.

The Kid with a Bike is on limited release from today.

Following on from yesterday's post, we find ourselves moving to the North gallery at the London outpost of Hauser & Wirth. Leaving behind Mary Heilmann, we are presented here with the work an artist who works at the other end of the spectrum of painting. Michael Raedecker is a fine artist in the traditional sense, creating work that is feels more tied to a pre-twentieth century art historical tradition. Though quieter, pensive pieces than Heilmann's post-pop aesthetic, the shows together provide a very interesting and engaging juxtaposition.

The capital's commercial galleries have opened 2012 with a series of shows of some of their most famous names and the results, though very striking, have a tendency to err on the side of self-satisfaction. It's rare to find a large, international commercial gallery making a show that sensitises the art on display but this is precisely the feeling that you get viewing Raedecker's work here - particularly if you've seen the Heimann previously.

In this exhibition of new work, the Dutch-born, London-based Raedecker, takes as his subjects the fanciful but ordinary: chandeliers, wedding cakes, country cottages. Etched and painted, the canvasses are then cut and stitched back together in collage conflagrations. Less subversion of the artist's chosen medium but more an investigation into the effects of paint in less-than-stable conditions. These are haunting, evocative pictures that disrupt their subjects as much as Heilmann's. This is a show that almost makes you wish that a large public institution had placed the work of these artists together, in context with a few more of their contemporaries. It's not to say that visiting this exhibition is like going through the Prado without lunch, but there's a very thoughtful exploration into the work of these two artists occurring here and, though the shows together mightn't be perfect, it's almost definitely the most attractive offer a commercial gallery can give an audience right now.

Michael Raedecker: volume is at Hauser & Wirth until 05 April.

When it comes to high-profile centres of learning, the arts are very well-served in London. With the six constituent colleges that make up University of the Arts, Goldsmith's, Ravensbourne, Slade and the RA school (to name only the highest profile dedicated art colleges), London-based art students are spoiled for choice. One of the world's most reputable, however, is the Royal College of Art. Expanding this Autumn to incorporate four new design-based courses, to complement their spanking new campus in Battersea (named from one of their most successful alumni), the college is breathing new life into itself after what was a very bad year for higher education institutions. The reputation, though, remains solid and currently on exhibition is the graduation show of one of the world's most well-known departments.

If you've been to a contemporary art museum or read an art magazine in the past fifteen years you're likely to have seen the work of a graduate from the department of Curating Contemporary Art. The latest cohort currently exhibit Ritual Without Myth, a group show of work by ten artists exploring the ethereal and transcendental. A fitting topic; it's often said that great art has almost a spiritual power, that great art is part of a grand enlightenment. Conversely, it's also often said that curating should be an invisible art, that it should lead, but subtly. The work on display here is, indeed, subtle. Comprised primarily of film and video installation, the viewer is led to tread a path which almost mirrors that of Orpheus: carpets and curtains of red and black curtail our passage. Moving image-based exhibition forces the viewer to slow down, and the show has been installed in such a way that it is nearly impossible to look back at work once you've moved past it. The curators make evident the structures that centres of contemporary art put in place in order to have art exhibit their transformative elements.

There's nothing subtle about this show, but it's a graduate show and one of the most high-profile (especially coming, as it does, almost three months earlier than most others). Will it be remembered in such glowing terms as the show of work by John Smith from CCA students three years ago? That's the legacy of great curatorship, and we can but see.

Ritual Without Myth is at the Royal College of Art until 25 March.